The Briefing Room
General Category => Politics/Government => Topic started by: mystery-ak on January 09, 2019, 08:02:20 pm
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Pressure: GOP offers to pay federal employees who work during the shutdown
by Pete Kasperowicz
| January 09, 2019 12:39 PM
A handful of House Republicans have proposed legislation that would require federal workers to be paid if they are required to work during a government shutdown, a sign that Republicans are growing increasingly worried about the long-term effect of the ongoing lapse in government funding.
Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, introduced a bill with four other House Republicans to ensure federal employees who are required to work during the shutdown are paid. When the government is partially shut down, departments require essential employees to stay on the job without pay, while nonessential workers are furloughed without pay.
But Gibbs said it's unfair to have essential workers do their jobs without any pay.
"If they are working to protect America and the lives of our citizens, they should be getting their paychecks on time," Gibbs said. "We shouldn't be forcing these men and women to shoulder the burden of Democrats' unwillingness to work with President Trump and congressional Republicans to solve the humanitarian and security crisis on our southern border."
The fight over funding for President Trump's proposed border wall has prevented Congress from reaching a deal on funding for nine agencies, which forced them to partially shut down on Dec. 22.
Passing Gibbs' bill into law might make it easier for the shutdown to continue since it would ensure critical federal workers are still paid on time. For that reason, it's unlikely House Democrats would call it up for a vote.
Four other Republicans joined Gibbs on the bill: Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C.; Scott Tipton, R-Colo.; Morgan Griffith, R-Va.; and Susan Brooks, R-Ind.
Rep. Mo Brooks, a Republican from Alabama, introduced his own similar bill along with Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., to pay essential workers.
"Ordering a federal employee to work without timely pay is morally wrong and runs counter to every economic principle on which a free enterprise system is based," he said.
Meadows also proposed a separate bill that would allow federal employees to make withdrawals from their Thrift Savings Plan accounts during a government shutdown.
The bills were proposed on Tuesday amid speculation that Republicans could start to crack under the pressure of a shutdown that would be the longest on record if it continues into Saturday. But as of Tuesday, Republicans said they still expect most Republicans to vote against Democratic bills this week aimed at funding the government without Trump's border wall.
Still, Democrats on Wednesday were predicting that Republicans would start to cave in on those bills this week. Democrats need to pick up nearly 20 GOP votes in order to pass bills in the House.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/pressure-gop-offers-to-pay-federal-employees-who-work-during-the-shutdown (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/pressure-gop-offers-to-pay-federal-employees-who-work-during-the-shutdown)
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Did anyone really think that a government shutdown would be without consequences?? If this affected the elites in Congress...this would no longer be an issue.
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Fake effing news.....
These click bait bleep say this in the title: GOP offers to pay federal employees who work during the shutdown and then start the article off by saying this: A handful of House Republicans. A handful of Rino clowns is not the GOP.
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Did anyone really think that a government shutdown would be without consequences?? If this affected the elites in Congress...this would no longer be an issue.
You are a border security wonk ... do you support the shutdown or not?
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A handful of Rino clowns is not the GOP.
Meadows is the Freedom Caucus chairman and a darling of the talk radio circuit. He’s a RINO, now?