Washington is barreling into its fifth week of a government shutdown, and despite a handful of payday deadlines for federal workers fast-approaching, there’s been little progress made toward turning the lights back on.
The Senate is expected to again vote on a House-passed plan to reopen the government this week but has failed to advance the continuing resolution (CR) 12 times.
As before, the legislation — which would reopen the government until Nov. 21 — is expected to fail again. The same dispute that triggered the shutdown nearly a month ago remains unresolved.
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Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., want an ironclad deal to extend expiring Obamacare premium subsidies, while Senate Republicans want to address the issue only after the government is reopened.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued that Democrats’ position had little to do with the actual premium tax credits, nor a desire for negotiations.
“It’s politics,” he said.
“Well, they’d like you to believe that it’s about healthcare,” he said on the Senate floor last week. “It’s not. Republicans have been perfectly clear that we’re willing to have a discussion about healthcare, just not while government funding is being held hostage and all the federal employees that come with that. So if this were really about healthcare, Democrats would be voting in favor of the clean CR as the quickest way to reopen the government.”
In the meantime, payday deadlines for air traffic controllers, military service members, and a funding cliff for federal nutrition assistance programs are right around the corner.
Air traffic controllers are expected to miss their first full paycheck on Tuesday after being partially paid earlier this month.
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Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has a bill that would fill that funding gap that is expected to be put on the floor for a vote this week. However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has not yet teed it up.
Then there is the military payday coming on Oct. 31. President Donald Trump previously moved around billions in funding to cover troops’ paychecks earlier this month, but that money is not expected to cover this upcoming pay cycle.
Sen. Ron Johnson’s, R-Wis., bill to pay troops and “excepted” federal workers — meaning federal workers who are currently working during the shutdown but not being paid — was blocked by Senate Democrats last week.
However, there is an effort between Johnson and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., to bring a new version of the bill to the floor. Van Hollen also tried to get his own bill to pay federal workers and troops on the floor last week but was blocked in the process.
Van Hollen, like other Senate Democrats, warned that Johnson’s version of the bill would allow Trump and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought a “blank check as to who they’re going to send home and who they’re going to punish by not paying.”
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“Not one of our federal employees, service members, or contractors deserves to be punished for this government shutdown,” Van Hollen said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “I’m continuing to work to make sure they’re not.”
And on Nov. 1, the same day as the beginning of open enrollment for Obamacare, funding for food stamps, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is expected to run out.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats received another blow to their unified front as the shutdown drags on from an outside ally that donates millions of dollars to Democratic political action committees and candidates.
The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union of federal employees in the nation that represents over 800,000 workers, demanded that Democrats swallow the Republicans’ clean CR to reopen the government.
Everett Kelley, president of the massive union, said in an open letter on Monday that the best path forward was to, “Reopen the government immediately under a clean continuing resolution that allows continued debate on larger issues,” and ensure that every federal employee that has been working or furloughed under the shutdown receive back pay.
“Because when the folks who serve this country are standing in line for food banks after missing a second paycheck because of this shutdown, they aren’t looking for partisan spin,” Kelley said. “They’re looking for the wages they earned. The fact that they’re being cheated out of it is a national disgrace.”
“It’s long past time for our leaders to put aside partisan politics and embrace responsible government,” he continued. “A strong America requires a functioning government — one that pays its bills, honors its commitments, and treats its workforce with respect by paying them on time.”
