Bill to protect military pay in the works - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Bill to protect military pay in the works

Legislation shielding military pay from the effects of a government shutdown is quickly gaining cosponsors as the clock ticks toward the midnight Friday expiration of federal funding, after which the government would shut down.

In the Senate, 71 cosponsors have signed onto a bill sponsored by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, that would continue paying the military during a shutdown and would give the Defense Department the discretion to also pay federal civilian workers and defense contractors deployed on contingency operations in support of U.S. troops.

Seventy-one votes is more than the 60 needed in the Senate to overcome procedural obstacles and pass the bill, but that doesn’t mean pay protection is a sure thing. Funding for military pay can be provided only in an appropriations bill, which under the Constitution must originate in the House of Representatives. There is a House bill, HR 1297, sponsored by Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, but it is not clear whether that bill will come to a vote.

Gohmert had collected 113 cosponsors as of Friday afternoon, short of the 218 votes needed to guarantee passage in the House. He also lacks support from House Republican leaders, who would have to agree to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

In a Facebook update about his bill, Gohmert said there is strong support for ensuring troops are paid, but lawmakers have yet to agree on the best way to do that.

House Republican leaders said Congress will be in session until midnight Friday on the chance an agreement can be reached to avoid a shutdown, and that Congress will be back in session on Saturday if a shutdown occurs, trying to come up with a way to get the government back running by Monday.

“It is clear that the best thing to do is completely fund the military and all its needs through the rest of the year, and that has been the Speaker’s position,” Gohmert said, referring to House Speaker Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who is trying to negotiate a budget deal with the Senate and White House.

Boehner is aware that the military pay protection bill must first pass the House, and “is considering bringing it to the floor today if an agreement to fund the entire military budget for the year is not reached soon,” Gohmert said. “The pressure is fortunately mounting now on both sides to take care of those who are fighting for us.”

The House and Senate bills are slightly different. Gohmert’s measure would guarantee only military members would be paid during a shutdown, while Hutchison’s would also cover deployed federal civilians and deployed contractors. Aides to the two lawmakers said there have been discussions about a compromise but would not divulge details.

Hutchison said service members deserve to be protected. “I am not willing to place the well-being of our military personnel and their families in the balance as we await a budget agreement,” she said.