Mrvan wants American troops paid despite government shutdown

Congressman Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, wants U.S. military and Coast Guard personnel to receive their regular paychecks even though the federal government is otherwise shut down.

The Northwest Indiana lawmaker recently declared his support for the "Pay Our Troops Act" that would guarantee an ongoing appropriation to cover military pay and benefits until the Republican-controlled Congress and Republican President Donald Trump approve the federal spending measures required to reopen the government.

"It is unfortunate that instead of Congress coming to a bipartisan agreement to fund all military operations and keep the federal government open, we are now scrambling at the final hour to ensure our troops do not miss a paycheck," Mrvan said.

"Members of the military selflessly serve our nation, and Congress has a responsibility to ensure they receive timely pay regardless of partisan gridlock."

At Trump's direction, the U.S. Defense Department is poised to temporarily repurpose up to $8 billion in weapons research and testing funds to ensure troop paychecks are distributed, as usual, on Wednesday.

But it's not clear whether the Pentagon will be able to scrounge together enough money from its other accounts to cover a second payroll at the end of the month.

The House has yet to vote on the Pay Our Troops Act because Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has kept the chamber out of session since Sept. 19 to try to pressure the Senate into approving Johnson's preferred short-term spending legislation.

Repeated votes show a majority of the 100 senators favor Johnson's plan to temporarily end the shutdown that began Oct. 1.

But Senate rules currently require the approval of at least 60 members and Republican Senate leaders have shown no interest in reducing that to 50.

For his part, Mrvan said he remains "committed to working with anyone, anywhere, anytime to reopen our government, protect access to health care, and ensure that no hardworking American misses a paycheck."

The nation's longest government shutdown lasted 35 days in Trump's first term.