Plans to ensure troops don't miss a paycheck if Congress fails to approve funding and the government shuts down on Sunday made little progress this week.
Some lawmakers were still working Friday to pass protections with less than two days to go. Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., told reporters she was in talks with House leadership to take up her bill to keep paying troops during a shutdown and expressed optimism that the bill will get a vote.
But in the Senate, Democrats twice this week blocked GOP attempts to pass a bill to shield troop pay during a shutdown, arguing that every federal worker should be protected by preventing a shutdown in the first place.
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“I share my colleagues' concern with making sure that our service members do not miss a paycheck because of a potential government shutdown,” Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., said on the Senate floor Friday. “In fact, I do not want any of our federal workers to miss a paycheck, whether they are cancer researchers whose work saves lives or brave firefighters who risk their lives for us.”
The uncertainty over troop pay comes as government funding is on track to expire at midnight Saturday, leading to a government shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, with no signs that Congress will reach an agreement to keep the government open before…
