Senate Democrats again blocked a plan by Republicans to ensure that federal workers and the military would receive a paycheck as the shutdown back and forth revs into high gear.<\/p>\n
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., again tried to advance a modified version of his ‘Shutdown Fairness Act’ bill that would see federal workers and the military paid now and during subsequent government shutdowns. However, the bill failed 53-43 with 3 Democrats defecting to support the bill. Georgia Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, and Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n of New Mexico voted for the bill.<\/p>\n
Last month, it was blocked over concerns from Senate Democrats that it did not include furloughed workers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Johnson noted on the Senate floor that after discussions with Senate Democrats he changed the bill to include furloughed workers, and that his legislation had the backing of several federal employee unions.<\/p>\n
‘They are sick and tired, being used as pawns in this political dysfunction here. They’re tired of it,’ Johnson said.<\/p>\n
Still, after fireworks on the Senate floor where Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who initially blocked the bill over concerns that it allowed President Donald Trump to pick and choose who got paid, the bill was blocked largely along party lines.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
‘It’s about leverage, isn’t it? Isn’t that what y’all have been saying? It’s about leverage,’ Thune said. ‘This isn’t leverage. This is the lives of the American people.’<\/p>\n
Johnson\u2019s bill appearing on the floor wasn\u2019t the initial plan Senate Republicans had going into Friday. Thune wanted to put the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) up for a vote again, but newfound Democratic unity after a sweeping victory on Election Night earlier this week had derailed bipartisan attempts to build an off-ramp.<\/p>\n
The GOP\u2019s attempt to pay federal workers amid the ongoing, 38-day shutdown came as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus announced their counter-offer to Senate Republicans\u2019 plan to reopen the government.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Schumer\u2019s offer included attaching a one-year extension onto expiring Obamacare subsidies \u2014 the main sticking point of the shutdown \u2014 in exchange for the Democratic votes to reopen the government.<\/p>\n
But the offer, which a source told Fox News Digital had been made in private to Senate Republicans last week and was summarily rejected, was again not going over well with Republicans.<\/p>\n
The Senate is expected to return on Saturday to vote on the House-passed plan for a 15th time. Whether Schumer and his caucus block it once more remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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