President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson said active duty U.S. military men and women, including about 30,000 serving on Louisiana installations at Barksdale Air Force Base and Fort Polk, will get paid on Oct. 15 despite the government shutdown.
Trump announced on Oct. 11 that his administration had found existing funding to pay the troops in a post on Truth Social.
“… We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary (Pete) Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS,” Trump said in the post. “I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown.”
Oct. 13 is Day 13 of the shutdown with Republicans and Democrats unable to reach a deal to pass a temporary funding bill. The Johnson-led Republican House has passed a funding measure, but the Senate hasn’t secured 60 votes needed to clear it.
Republicans blame Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York for blocking passage, while Democrats oppose any bill that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act subsidies and restore Medicaid cuts.
Active duty troops who are required to continue working during the shutdown had been scheduled to miss their first paychecks Oct. 15. They were last paid Sept. 30.
But the Trump administration identified about $8 billion to meet its active duty military payroll on Oct. 15 if a deal isn’t reached before then.
Johnson’s office provided the following from the Trump administration to USA Today Network detailing the funding source:
“The Department of War has identified approximately $8 billion of unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds (RDTE) from the prior fiscal year that will be used to issue mid month paychecks to service members in the event the funding lapse continues past October 15th.”
Johnson, whose 4th Congressional District boundaries include Barksdale and Fort Polk, issued the following statement in a post on X:
“Democrats have voted to block the Republican CR bill to pay our troops EIGHT TIMES over the past 3 weeks! Thankfully, our Republican Commander-in-Chief joins with us in refusing to let military families suffer due to the SCHUMER SHUTDOWN!”
Louisiana’s and other states’ National Guard troops will miss a paycheck if a deal isn’t reached.
Much of Louisiana’s economy is fueled by the military.
Military spending accounts for $9.64 billion of economic activity across Louisiana, according to a study released in 2021.
It shows the military accounts for 77,000 jobs — one of every 26 jobs in Louisiana — and makes up 2.4% of the state’s gross domestic product, as well as contributing $349.7 million in local and state taxes.
More: Here’s what has been cut in Louisiana so far during the federal government shutdown
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Will Louisiana troops at Barksdale and Fort Polk get paid October 15?
