The Scoop
As the government shutdown nears its ninth day, Democrats are pushing for assistance to help those affected by the gap in federal paychecks — starting with the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Maxine Waters of California.
In a Wednesday letter first shared with Semafor, Waters asked major bank trade associations, like the American Bankers Association and Bank Policy Institute, to work with their members to provide accommodations for customers who may not be able to pay off loans in time due to missed checks. She sent a similar letter to banking regulators earlier this week.
“Through no fault of their own, hundreds of thousands of Federal workers, servicemembers, and Federal contractors have been adversely impacted and may find it difficult to meet their credit obligations while they are not being paid,” Waters wrote.
“Any missed payments caused by the government shutdown could have undue, lasting impacts on their reported creditworthiness, making it difficult for them to obtain future credit or increasing their borrowing costs,” she added.
In addition, Democrats are pushing House Speaker Mike Johnson to take up legislation that would ensure military personnel receive their next paycheck, set for Oct. 15, if the government is not funded in advance of that date. Johnson said Wednesday that he would not bring lawmakers back to Washington to vote on it.
Know More
Democratic Reps. Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico and Derek Tran of California will send a letter to Johnson later today urging him to reconsider.
Both are cosponsors of a related bill ensuring military paychecks from Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., who also called on Johnson Wednesday “to immediately pass” it. Shortly after, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he would support such a proposal.
“As a junior enlisted in the military, every dollar I was paid made a huge difference,” Tran told Semafor. “So my heart goes out to so many of the family members that are living in anxiety.”
Vasquez pointed out that “there’s precedent” for such a vote after lawmakers unanimously passed similar legislation during a long shutdown in 2013.
“We find ourselves in a similar situation today, and the situation is no different, except that we don’t actually have Republicans in Washington to take such a vote,” Vasquez told Semafor. “This is a common sense thing.”
If Johnson doesn’t reverse course, the issue is likely to loom large over the campaign trail — particularly in purple districts with lots of military personnel. Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot who’s running to unseat GOP Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey, recalled “how stressful this was” for her during the 2013 shutdown.
“I definitely plan to continue to talk about this, because I think it’s a really important issue, and I don’t know that people necessarily understand how dire it can be,” Bennett told Semafor.