Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said on Monday that he was disappointed that his provision to block lawmakers from getting paid did not make it into the continuing resolution (CR).
Kennedy introduced two bills on Thursday that would force lawmakers to either forfeit their paychecks during a shutdown and put them in escrow accounts during periods when the government is not open. The senator said on “The Will Cain Show” that he will continue introducing his legislation even after his leadership blocked him from adding his bills to the funding bill.
“My only disappointment in the deal that we have, I strongly wanted a provision added that senators cannot be paid during a shutdown. It’s called shared sacrifice. It’s called leadership,” Kennedy said. “We were getting paid, but our staff wasn’t. I didn’t take my salary, but our staff wasn’t getting paid, and our air traffic controllers, our military. I thought it was the hype of hypocrisy.”
WATCH:
At least 55 of the 100 senators are not taking a paycheck or are donating their salaries in solidarity with federal workers who are furloughed or working full-time without pay. Among those are 26 Republicans, 28 Democrats and 1 independent.
The Senate passed the 60-vote threshold on Sunday to cast a final vote on the amended CR and send it back to the House for their passage. If passed by both chambers, the funding bill will make its way to President Donald Trump’s desk for approval.
Progressive Democrats and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are outraged at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the eight Democrats who voted for the CR’s advancement because it did not include an extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, which are set to expire on Dec. 31. Schumer stated on Sunday that he is against the CR because it fails to address the healthcare crisis.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has repeatedly argued that Congress can vote on the ACA’s subsidies once the government reopens. Senate Republicans agreed to reverse the layoffs of 4,000 federal workers and schedule a vote on ACA extensions in exchange for Democrats’ support.
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