The ongoing government shutdown is forcing U.S. service members and their families to seek emergency food assistance as fears mount that the military will not receive paychecks scheduled for October 15.
Despite the mounting financial stress on military families, Senate Democrats are showing little willingness to reopen the government without first securing partisan demands related to healthcare and presidential spending authority.
Active-duty service members have been required to report to work without immediate pay since the shutdown began on Wednesday at midnight.
Reports from the Military Times highlight the growing crisis, including a 34% increase in demand this week at a food pantry near Fort Hood, Texas.
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Blame Game Continues
When questioned on the shutdown’s toll on military families, Senate Democrats largely deflected blame onto Republicans and President Donald Trump.
“President Donald Trump needs to be a leader and provide the support necessary to bring this together,” said Democratic New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján to the DCNF. “Republicans are in charge of the House, the Senate, and the White House.” Luján did not directly address the financial impact on service members.
Other Democrats similarly accused the GOP of causing the financial distress and refusing to negotiate. Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy claimed Republicans were “cheerleading to shut down” and “refusing to enter into serious negotiations,” despite nearly every GOP lawmaker having voted to fund the government.
Democrats Demand Policy Concessions
A majority of Senate Democrats, including Luján, have voted against reopening the government, demanding Republicans first agree to an extra $1.5 trillion in healthcare policies and restrictions on the President’s ability to “claw back” congressionally-appropriated funds.
Democratic Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, who voted against reopening the government on Friday, stated, “A shutdown is a horrible thing. I don’t want to see a shutdown. What I also don’t want to see is people’s healthcare premiums quadruple.”
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Pentagon Slams Democrats’ Stance
The Department of War strongly criticized the Democrats’ strategy, which is forcing millions of Americans to work without pay.
“It is astonishing that the Democrats are choosing to inflict massive pain on the American people and our warfighters by opting for a government shutdown,” said Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell. He added that Democrats “believe slush funds for PBS and free healthcare for illegal immigrants is more important than funding our warfighters and our veterans.”
Republicans and some moderate Democrats have criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s strategy. Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley called the situation “stupid” and “destructive,” questioning why Congress is getting paid while the military is not.
“I would urge my Democrat colleagues — like, let’s stop the hostage taking,” Hawley said.
Republicans remain hopeful that a handful of rank-and-file Democrats will eventually break with their leadership and join a bipartisan effort to reopen the government, which they maintain is the key to immediately ending the financial hardship on military families.
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