(NewsNation) — Paychecks for thousands of federal workers are in the hands of the Senate, where competing bills to pay workers caught in the middle of the government shutdown failed.
Lawmakers voted on two proposals, one Democrat-backed and one Republican-backed, that would have ensured workers who aren’t furloughed get paid. Both bills failed, leaving federal workers stuck in the middle of the ongoing shutdown battle.
Thursday’s Senate focus was on a vote to pay certain federal employees who need to work but are not getting paid until the government reopens, including air traffic controllers, federal law enforcement and military members. These are known as “excepted” workers.
“The least we can do is pay them. We’re going to pay them anyway. We’ve got a law that provides back pay for workers, or people even furloughed,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who is sponsoring the Republican version. “So why not do the common-sense thing?”
Why are there competing bills?
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told NewsNation he and other Democrats will continue to push an alternative bill that would secure pay for all workers.
“Ron Johnson’s bill would say President Trump gets to pay federal employees that the president decides to keep on the job but not pay those that Donald Trump decides not to keep on the job,” Van Hollen said.
When asked by NewsNation to respond to these concerns, Johnson defended his bill, saying that if anything, Trump could deem more people to be exempt to get the government up and running.
But Democrats don’t trust Trump and want more assurances in written legislation.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., noted, “There’s an old saying, ‘Watch what they do, not what they say.’ Donald Trump has shown an absolute contempt for the normal rules, and so I think we need to specify in law what he can do with his taxpayer money.”
In early October, President Donald Trump said some federal workers “really don’t deserve to be taken care of” after the shutdown ends, following an Axios report on a White House memo that said federal workers aren’t guaranteed back pay for their mandated time off when furloughed.
Funding votes fail after Oregon senator filibuster
A 12th round of voting on spending bills failed in the Senate on Wednesday after decisions were delayed by a marathon speech from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who held the floor for nearly 23 hours.
During his filibuster, Merkley pushed back on many of Trump’s policies since his return to office and said the United States is at its most delicate stage since the Civil War.
Senate Republicans slammed Merkley’s speech before it even began, with Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., pointing out Capitol Police would not be paid to work overnight during the speech because of the shutdown.
Who do Americans blame for the government shutdown?
New polling from Quinnipiac University found that 45% of registered voters described Republicans in Congress as more responsible for the shutdown, while 39% blamed Democrats.
Eleven percent of respondents said both parties deserved equal blame.
At 23 days, the shutdown is officially the second-longest in U.S. history — and there are few signs of it ending soon.