A Fort Belvoir woman’s interaction with Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson regarding pay for members of the U.S. military went viral today (Thursday).
With the federal government shutdown now in its ninth day, the woman, identified as Samantha from Fort Belvoir, called into C-SPAN’s Washington Journal to express her frustration over the possibility of members of the armed services missing paychecks.
“I have two medically fragile children,” Samantha said. “I have a husband who actively serves this country. He suffers from PTSD from his two tours in Afghanistan. If we see a lapse in pay come the 15th, my children do not get to get the medication that’s needed for them to live their life because we live paycheck to paycheck to paycheck.”
The caller then challenged Johnson directly, expressing her disappointment with what she described as a lack of action to end the shutdown from Congressional Republicans.
“As a Republican, I’m very disappointed in my party, and I’m very disappointed in you,” Samantha said. “You do have the power to call the House back. You refused to do that just for a show. I am begging you to pass this legislation. My kids could die.”
Johnson pinned the blame on Democratic lawmakers in response, arguing that Samantha and other military families were in this situation because Democrats did not support legislation to keep the government open.
“I want you to hear clearly: the Republicans are the ones delivering for you,” Johnson said. “We had a vote to pay the troops — it was the continuing resolution three weeks ago … every Democrat in the house except for one voted to close [the government]. The Democrats are the ones that are preventing you from getting a check.”
A video of the full interaction can be seen below.
While a new appropriations bill is stalled in the Senate, Johnson has stated that the House of Representatives will remain on an indefinite break until the government reopens — a decision that has reportedly inspired some pushback from within his own party.
Legislation has already been introduced to pay service members during the shutdown. Rep. Jen Kiggans, a Republican representing Virginia Beach, introduced the “Pay Our Troops Act” last month, which has not advanced out of the House Appropriations Committee despite bipartisan support.
According to Politico, Johnson told House Republicans on a private call today that he doesn’t plan to bring up Kiggans’s bill for a vote before funds to pay servicemembers are expected to run out on Oct. 15, arguing that it wouldn’t pass the Senate. He also noted that it would be unnecessary if the Senate adopts the budget bill that the House passed weeks ago.
Democrats in both the House and Senate have been adamant that funding for the federal government should include support for healthcare, primarily an extension for soon-expiring healthcare subsidies. Without that extension, millions of Americans would see their monthly insurance premiums jump by hundreds of dollars a month.
“When you layer on the cost from the tariffs, when you layer on increasing utility costs — we know that’s an issue here in Virginia — folks just can’t afford an increase in healthcare premiums of $1,200 or more each year,” Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw, who represents a majority of Fairfax County, told FFXnow yesterday (Wednesday).
Screenshot via C-SPAN
