WASHINGTON — Congress passed a bill on Friday which approves back pay for federal workers affected by the shutdown. The bill passed by a vote of 411-7, guaranteeing furloughed workers would receive retroactive pay after the partial shutdown ends.
Of the seven congressmen who voted no, one of them was Michigan Rep. Justin Amash (R-Cascade). He has since received backlash on social media for his vote.
Amash typically explains his rationale behind his voting on Facebook or Twitter. In this instance, Amash tweeted his explanation for voting against the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019.
He said this bill is not specific to the current shutdown, and if it becomes law it will be applicable to all future shutdowns.
"This is bad policy. It makes shutdowns more likely to happen and more likely to last longer," Amash said on Twitter.
In the past, government shutdowns have given federal workers back pay as a part of the larger spending bill. In this case, the bill is being passed as a stand-alone measure while legislators still spar of funding for a border wall.
Amash said he voted for back pay after previous shutdowns because those bills were limited to those specific shutdowns. "If people will automatically be paid after any future shutdown, as this bill requires, then why send them home and why not pay them on time? This bill was not properly vetted," he said.
Amash has a history as a congressman for voting no on a lot of bills. He is an advocate for small government. In July 2018, The Washington Post called him 'Dr. No,' and compared him to Ron Paul, a Texas libertarian and former congressman.
The bill, which has passed Congress and the Senate, will now go to President Trump to be signed into law.
About 800,000 federal employees did not receive their paychecks on Friday. As of Saturday, the shutdown is now the longest government shutdown in American history.
►Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.
