Henry Rodgers on January 9, 2019
House Republicans introduced a bill Wednesday that offers to pay federal employees who work during the government shutdown.
As the government is in its 19th day of a partial shutdown, five Republican lawmakers, Ohio Rep. Bob Gibbs, North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, Indiana Rep. Susan Brooks, Colorado Rep. Scott Tipton and Virginia Rep. Morgan Griffith, introduced legislation that would require federal workers be paid during the partial shutdown.
“While Democrats continue to play politics with border security, federal employees dedicated to their mission of keeping America safe and our border secure are still going to work knowing they will be missing their paychecks,” Gibbs said in a Wednesday statement.
Gibbs blasted Democrats for the shutdown in the statement, saying they are the reason federal workers are not being paid:
They should not be caught in the middle of political ploys by politicians who are not serious about securing our border. If they are working to protect America and the lives of our citizens, they should be getting their paychecks on time. We shouldn’t be forcing these men and women to shoulder the burden of Democrats’ unwillingness to work with President Trump and Congressional Republicans to solve the humanitarian and security crisis on our Southern Border.
President Donald Trump was on Capitol Hill Wednesday meeting with Republican senators to discuss the shutdown and border wall funding. After the meeting, he said Republicans were “unified.”
Trump also warned Democrats that he may declare a national emergency if they can not come to an agreement soon.
