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Sen. Bill Cassidy urges Schumer to end shutdown, pushes bill to pay military and federal workers
Summary
Sen. Bill Cassidy told an interviewer Republicans have repeatedly voted to reopen the government and called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to end what he called the "Democrat shutdown," while urging support for a Republican bill to ensure pay for servicemembers and other essential federal workers during the shutdown.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said Tuesday that Senate Republicans have voted repeatedly to reopen the federal government and called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to instruct Democrats to support reopening legislation.
"This is the fourth week of the Democrat shutdown," Cassidy said, adding that Republicans "have voted now 11 different times to open up the government and we are going to keep voting to open up the government." He said Republicans are "unified" but that the measures still need some Democratic votes to pass.
Cassidy blamed pressure from the party's progressive wing for Democratic resistance. "The far left has intimidated the rank and file Democrat, including Chuck Schumer," he said, asserting that Schumer could end the shutdown "today" if he told his members to vote for reopen bills.
On the prospects for targeted relief during the shutdown, Cassidy said Republicans are asking colleagues to support legislation that would pay members of the military and certain other critical federal employees while the shutdown continues. "A lot of those folks serving in the military are like 20 to 30 years old and they're married and have a child," he said. "Don't exploit their sense of mission. Go ahead and pay them. They are the most vulnerable to economic pressure."
The program's host noted that some employees received a partial paycheck and that next week, if the shutdown persists, pay could drop to zero. Cassidy urged support for his bill, saying it would secure pay for "our servicemen and women and other like air traffic controllers" while they are on duty.
Cassidy said ending the shutdown would allow lawmakers to "begin to deal with the issues that theoretically they want to deal with," but expressed doubt the vote later that day would succeed without Democratic defections. He told the host he expected Schumer to continue to "hunker down" in opposition.
The Senate was preparing for another vote later the same day; Cassidy said he wanted party leaders to change course and for Democrats to join Republicans to restore funding and pay.
The interview was a news segment on Wake Up America; there was no formal recorded vote outcome in the interview itself.
