Senate Democrats are crafting a counterproposal to a Republican bill that would pay some federal workers and active-duty troops during the prolonged shutdown, Politico reported Tuesday.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., introduced the "Shutdown Fairness Act" on Friday, a measure that would act as a "permanent fix" to ensure "excepted workers and our troops" get paid during a shutdown.
Senate Democrats poured cold water on the legislation, with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., arguing it would allow President Donald Trump to "decide who he wants to pay and who he doesn't."
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said the bill picks "winners and losers," Government Executive reported.
It wasn't clear how a Democratic countermeasure would address the issue, according to the report.
Further, Democrats face long odds in securing a vote on their proposal.
They could request unanimous consent — a step vulnerable to objection from any Republican senator — or pursue a negotiated side-by-side vote with Republicans, with their bill presented as an amendment, according to the report.
On Tuesday, Republican Reps. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota and Pennsylvania's Ryan Mackenzie announced they are leading the effort on a companion measure in the House.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Monday he would reconvene the lower chamber to vote on the bill should it pass in the Senate.
His counterpart, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., dismissed the legislation as a "political ploy."
"All employees should be compensated, and that will happen when we reopen the government," Jeffries told reporters Monday, omitting the fact that Senate Democrats could end the shutdown but continue not to.
"They want to say Republicans are in control, but it takes 60 votes in the Senate to get anything done," Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., told Newsmax on Monday.
"And so they're holding hostage illegal immigrant funding for healthcare.
"They're holding hostage our military pay; they're holding hostage border agents; they're holding hostage all of the federal workforce," Steube added.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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