Shutdown Enters Day 16: Speaker Johnson Cancels House Votes Next Week as Senate Democrats Block Troop Pay Bill
The federal government shutdown entered its 16th day on October 16. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on October 15 that he was canceling all House votes scheduled for next week, keeping members on recess; he said the House had already passed its funding bill and that the next move was up to the Senate, according to Reuters and CNN.
The same day, Senate Democrats blocked a Republican bill that would have funded pay for active-duty service members on its own. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats had their own bill covering pay for both service members and federal employees. Troops' October 15 paychecks were covered after the administration tapped unspent research and development funds; the next military payday falls on October 31.
The Senate is out on Friday, October 16, and returns Monday. The shutdown began on October 1, and the two parties remain deadlocked over issues including whether an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies should be part of a stopgap funding bill. (GSM, based on reporting by Reuters and CNN)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国国会大厦圆顶夜景 · APK 摄 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
