Senate Plans Late Friday Vote on Bill to Pay Federal Workers During Shutdown
The Senate was expected to vote late Friday on a motion to proceed to an amended version of the Shutdown Fairness Act (S-3012) as Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., predicted that the chamber would likely “be here for the weekend” for talks aimed at ending the government shutdown, which started Oct. 1 (see 2509300060).
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Senate Republicans and Democrats had been unenthusiastic Friday about accepting each other’s proposals for temporarily restoring federal appropriations at FY 2025 levels through January as a spat continued over extending Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies. Senators earlier in the week appeared to be moving closer to a deal to end the shutdown.
The American Federation of Government Employees urged senators Friday to back the amended S-3012, which would pay all federal workers during the government shutdown, including those on furlough. The FCC furloughed 81% of its 1,288 staff members when the shutdown began (see 2510010065). Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., objected Friday to a bid by S-3012's lead sponsor, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., to pass the bill by unanimous consent.
“Today, most federal employees will once again not receive scheduled biweekly paychecks -- the second zero-dollar paycheck since the current shutdown began last month," AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a letter to senators. "With Thanksgiving just weeks away, the time has come for Congress to act. Every missed paycheck deepens the financial hole in which federal workers and their families find themselves.”