Sen. Johnson Moves to Ensure Federal Workers are Paid During Government Shutdown

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) introduced a substitute amendment to his Shutdown Fairness Act and is seeking unanimous consent from his Senate colleagues to pay all federal employees and servicemembers, including furloughed workers, during a government shutdown.

“Right now, I’d be willing to add furloughed workers because we’re going to pay them anyway […] Would you take my bill, add furloughed workers, say it’s a done deal? Is that something you’d accept here today?” Sen. Johnson said to Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) during his floor speech on October 23, 2025.

Sen. Johnson was joined by U.S. Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.),

Sen. Johnson’s full floor speech can be found here.

Full text of the amendment can be found here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.