GOP veterans urge Senate Democrats to end troop shutdown

FIRST ON FOX: A group of House GOP veterans is pressuring Senate Democrats who also served in the military to support Republicans’ federal funding bill and end the government shutdown.

US troops are set to miss their first paycheck following the ongoing shutdown on October 15, with Republicans and Democrats still unable to agree on a path forward by next week.

“We are a group of veterans currently serving in the House of Representatives who voted YES on the House’s continuing resolution of September 19. We write to you, fellow veterans currently serving in the United States Senate, who have repeatedly voted NO on this same resolution. We hope you will receive this letter in the manner intended: as brothers and sisters in arms, not as supporters,” reads one letter sent on Saturday.

“This short-term measure contains no cuts, no policy changes, and no gimmicks. It simply keeps government open while giving Congress time to responsibly negotiate the twelve long-term appropriations bills. Most importantly, it ensures that our troops, the same men and women we once served with, continue to receive their pay without interruption.”

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U.S. soldiers disembark inside the Camilo Osias Naval Base in Santa Ana, Cagayan province, northern Philippines, after participating in joint military exercises Monday, May 6, 2024. (Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

The Senate is expected to pass the Republican Party funding bill by Monday, Oct. 13, to ensure military paychecks are sent out on time the following Wednesday, according to Military times.

But the Senate likely won’t be in session because Monday is a federal holiday, meaning the next earliest possible vote will be Tuesday.

Active-duty military personnel, like other federal employees deemed essential, must continue to work despite the government shutdown.

The possibility that they will lose their next paycheck has become a particularly painful flash point in the impasse over public funding.

The Senate has now rejected the House-passed measure seven times — a bill that would keep spending roughly at fiscal 2025 levels through Nov. 21, called a continuing resolution (CR).

It passed the House along mostly partisan lines on September 19. But House and Senate Democrats have been largely furious at being left out of negotiations over federal funding and are now demanding that any spending deal also include an extension of the COVID-19 pandemic-era boosted Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year.

Republican leaders who control the House and Senate have said they are willing to lead negotiations on these grants, but insisted the CR must be “clean,” without any political elements. The CRs are intended to give congressional negotiators more time to reach a longer-term funding deal for fiscal year 2026, which began Oct. 1.

The government is partially paralyzed after Congress failed to reach an agreement on federal funding. (Getty Images)

“This short-term measure contains no cuts, no policy changes, and no gimmicks. It simply keeps the government open while giving Congress time to responsibly negotiate the twelve long-term appropriations bills. Most importantly, it ensures that our troops, the same men and women we once served with, continue to receive their pay without interruption,” Saturday’s letter said.

“We understand that you oppose certain policies in the One Big Beautiful Bill and that you have strong preferences regarding the future of the Affordable Care Act appropriations. We respect that you have these priorities. But for the sake of our troops, we ask that you vote for the continuing resolution and affirm these policy preferences in subsequent discussions and debates that do not disrupt pay for troops. “

It is led by Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., a military veteran, and is signed by 21 other House Republicans who also served. The letter is addressed to seven veteran Senate Democrats who all voted against CR.

As of the current vote count, all it takes is five more Democrats to cross the aisle and support CR so it can overcome the Senate filibuster and move on to a final vote.

Screaming match breaks out between HAKEEM JEFFRIES and MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

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The letter comes after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., faced growing pressure from Republicans and Democrats to hold a vote next week on a standalone bill to guarantee troop payments.

But Johnson all but dismissed the idea, arguing that it is up to Senate Democrats to pass the Republican-led funding bill that would allow the military and other members of the federal government to receive their paychecks on time.

Federal workers who miss pay during the government shutdown are normally entitled to receive that money as back pay once the shutdown ends.