Shutdown

 Roll Call - Key senators of both parties said they would try to find a way to pay all federal employees during the partial government shutdown after the Senate blocked consideration of dueling proposals Thursday.

Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who authored competing bills, talked up the possibility of brokering a compromise after both of their measures were blocked from advancing on the floor. But a provision in Van Hollen’s bill to prohibit the administration from conducting layoffs during the shutdown remained a key sticking point.

Johnson’s bill would allow paychecks to flow for troops and “excepted” federal employees who are required to work without pay during the shutdown. Van Hollen’s bill would also cover furloughed employees.

“I really don’t have an objection to paying furloughed workers,” Johnson told reporters. “They’re going to get paid anyway. So let’s figure out those areas of agreement. I mean, we’re pretty darn close.”

Van Hollen likewise expressed support for finding a compromise. “All Democrats would like to move forward,” he said. “The difference is we don’t want any federal employee to be punished for a shutdown they have nothing to do with. And if we can find a way with Sen. Johnson, Republicans, to accomplish that goal, then we can.”

NPR - Close to a million and a half federal workers across the U.S. are going without pay today as the government enters day 24 of the shutdown. Yesterday, the Senate blocked dueling bills to pay federal employees. The Republican bill would have paid the people still working despite the shutdown. The Democratic option would have paid everybody, including furloughed workers.