The partial shutdown of the federal government has been extended for more than a week and, while there is still no rapprochement between Republicans and Democrats, the date of October 15 is also approaching when active military personnel will not receive their salary checks.
Without even preliminary agreements being publicly known, senators have continued voting this week against the opposing side’s proposals.
Democrats remain firm in demanding that the improvement to a tax credit that helps pay for health insurance premiums through ‘Obamacare’ be made permanent. Republicans, who have a majority but have not been able to get the 60 votes they need, promise to discuss the issue after short-term financing is approved and the government reopens.
The Lower House approved the Republican plan to finance the government until November.
Meanwhile, in the White House, President Donald Trump has threatened to fire public employees and not retroactively pay their salaries as stipulated in a law he himself signed during the 2018-2019 government shutdown, the longest in history at 35 days.
For now, this has remained threats. However, the days go by and the date of October 15 when active military members are supposed to receive their next checks is approaching. If there is no agreement by then, those who are military, members of the National Guard or those who work for the Department of Defense will be left without their payments.
“Service members received their payments on October 1, which covered the period before the government shutdown (…) If the shutdown lasts more than two weeks (from that date of October 1), Congress must pass the proposal for the Pay Our Troops Act that ensures that our members are paid even during a government shutdown,” asks the nonprofit organization National Military Family Association.
There has also been no consensus on this proposal in Congress.
The Republican leader in the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, welcomed the suggestion this Tuesday. “I’m open to that… We’ve done it in the past. I want to make sure our troops are paid,” Johnson told reporters.
But his Senate colleague, John Thune, quickly blocked his path. “Honestly, you don’t need that. Obviously there are certain parties that are going to be very negatively affected by what’s happening. (…) But the simplest way to end this is not by exempting one group or this other. It is by reopening the government,” he said.
This Wednesday, representatives Derek Tran and Gabe Vásquez wrote a letter also signed by 53 other Democrats in which they ask Johnson to present a bill that “would guarantee that members of the military service, as well as civilian personnel and contractors, continue to receive their payments during the government shutdown.”
“We urge that you introduce this legislation to pay America’s service members in the House and that there be a timely vote to ensure that military personnel are paid on October 15,” the letter reads. “If Congress does not act by October 15, almost three million families will be left without their checks,” he adds.
Below we see in detail who does and who does not receive their salaries during a partial federal government shutdown.
Are military and public employees paid their salaries during a government shutdown?
No, but the law stipulates that they be paid retroactively once financing is approved and the government reopens. Not so with those who are government contractors.
“After the budget for the federal government is enacted following a shutdown, current law requires that employees be paid at their usual wage rate, whether they are employees who worked during the shutdown or whose work was (temporarily) suspended,” reads an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Regarding furloughed employees: CBO estimated that during this closure the work of 750,000 employees has been temporarily suspended.
Regarding military personnel and members of the National Guard: “Active duty military personnel are generally considered exempt employees and are therefore required to work during a government shutdown,” CBO adds in its report. “As with other federal employees, they are paid once funding is enacted,” he says.
Do the president and legislators receive their salaries during a government shutdown?
Yes, both the president and legislators continue to receive their salaries during a government shutdown, because that has been established in the United States Constitution.
About the president: “Regarding the president’s pay, Section 1 of Article II of the Constitution prohibits the president’s salary from being reduced while he is in office, which guarantees the president’s compensation regardless of any action of a shutdown” of the government, explains an analysis prepared by the Congressional Research Service in the previous government shutdown.
The president of the United States receives a salary of $400,000 annually.
About legislators: “Section 6 of Article I of the Constitution establishes that senators and representatives must receive compensation for their services, which will be determined by law and paid by the United States Treasury,” explains the analysis of the Congressional Research Service. Since it was passed in 1983, a law permanently designated an account from which those salaries are paid.
The most recent adjustment to legislators’ salaries was made in 2009, when it was set at $174,000 for most senators, representatives, delegates and the ‘resident commissioner’ of Puerto Rico. The leader of the Lower House receives a higher amount, of $223,500 annually. Majority and minority leaders in both Houses receive $193,400.
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