GOP Bill Would Ensure Military Pay Through A Government Shutdown
Friday, April 1, 2011 at 2:23PMBy Mario Trujillo
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) introduced a bill that would ensure pay for military personnel in the event of a government shutdown.
“When somebody is fighting for us they don’t need to be distracted by what kind of gamesmanship is going on in washington,” Gohmert, flanked by six other Republican congressmen, told reporters Friday. “We want this taken off the table.”
Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), who joined Gohmert, said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) supports ensuring that servicemen are paid, but Carter said he didn’t know if the Speaker would put the bill on the legislative calendar in the next week.
Members of the military would not be furloughed since they are classified as essential, according to a nonpartisan Congressional Research Service report, but they would not receive payment during the shutdown.
In the 1995 shutdown, military payment didn’t stall when the government shut down for 21 days since a separate defense appropriation bill had already been passed. Though Defense Secretary Robert Gates supported removing the defense budget from the current spending debate, no such plan has gained support in Congress.
The current spending resolution runs out April 8th.
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