Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), considered the most at-risk Democratic incumbent in the Senate, along with his fellow Georgian Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), supported a Republican bill on Thursday aimed at ensuring payment for essential federal workers, including military personnel, during the ongoing government shutdown.
Ossoff and Warnock, in addition to Senator John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), voted for the Republican bill. However, it did not pass, receiving a 54-45 vote, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance.
These votes are interesting because both Ossoff and Warnock have voted against House-approved bills 12 times that aimed to reopen government agencies and fund them through November 21.
Yet, they have consistently backed a Democratic plan that would fund the government until October 31, extend health insurance premium enhancements indefinitely, and restore nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts.
“Military personnel, TSA agents, air traffic controllers, and other federal workers have no option but to report to work, and they deserve to be compensated,” Ossoff remarked to reporters following the vote.
He chose to back the Shutdown Fairness Act, introduced by Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), despite Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) dismissing it as a “ruse.”
Schumer cautioned that the bill could grant President Trump excessive authority over which federal employees are paid and which would be furloughed.
He contended that the measure would relieve Republican pressure to negotiate with Democrats over rising healthcare costs, effectively prolonging the government shutdown as part of a larger arrangement.
“The only way to ensure payment for every federal worker is for Republicans to engage earnestly with Democrats,” Schumer stated on the Senate floor.
Johnson’s bill proposes to pay active military, air traffic controllers, TSA agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and Border Patrol agents during the shutdown.
Although Ossoff disagreed with Schumer’s advice against the Shutdown Fairness Act, he acknowledged that he shares Democrats’ views that Republicans need to negotiate a broader agreement to expand Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies.
“It’s really up to the White House and the Speaker of the House to initiate genuine bipartisan discussions to navigate us out of this deadlock,” Ossoff stated. “With health insurance enrollment ending in nine days, my constituents are facing drastic increases in premiums. This issue needs attention immediately,” he added.
When questioned about criticism surrounding the Republican bill’s inability to prevent mass layoffs under the Trump administration, Ossoff remarked, “The layoffs initiated by the administration are catastrophic for Georgia,” noting the Atlanta-based CDC has seen a significant reduction in its workforce.
Warnock criticized Republicans for “tragically holding Americans in need of healthcare hostage” as well as “holding federal workers hostage.” He contended that federal employees, who are required to work without pay during the shutdown, shouldn’t be subjected to “punishment.”
“Just because we’ve decided to shut down the government, it shouldn’t mean these workers should suffer,” he said, addressing Republicans.
Warnock expressed a desire to provide some “relief” for federal workers, even if the Shutdown Fairness Act doesn’t compensate them while furloughed.
“There was a way to offer relief to some of those being held hostage, and I’m pleased to provide that opportunity,” he explained to reporters.
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Senator Angus King (Maine), who caucus with the Democrats, voted against the essential worker pay bill, despite having supported Fetterman in past votes for a straightforward continuing resolution proposed by House Republicans to reopen the government.
Cortez Masto echoed Schumer’s concerns, arguing that the Shutdown Fairness Act would give President Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought excessive power in determining which federal workers receive pay and which remain furloughed.
“This is going to increase the administration’s authority. I was worried about the repercussions of a government shutdown from the start. This administration will choose who gets paid and who doesn’t, which I don’t think is how it should be,” she said.
