Johnson says he won't bring House back for bill to pay troops
Johnson reiterated Thursday that he will not bring the House back to pass a standalone bill to ensure military troops get paid amid a government shutdown.
If Congress fails to reopen the government by Oct. 15, it will mark the first time in modern history when service members missed a paycheck due to the government shutdown.

"We have already voted to pay the troops. We did it three weeks ago. We put that bill on the floor, and the Republicans voted to pay the troops," Johnson said at a news conference in the Capitol Thursday morning.
The speaker's comments came hours after a C-SPAN caller named Samantha, a Republican from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, told Johnson she was "very disappointed" with the Republican party over the government shutdown. She said her "kids could die" if her family experiences a lapse in pay on Oct. 15.
""I think that it is awful, and the audacity of someone who makes six figures a year to do this to military families is insane," Samantha told the speaker directly.

Johnson addressed the caller during the news conference and blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
"They live paycheck to paycheck. Many of these service members, and this is not a game. Chuck Schumer thinks it is," he said.
-ABC News' Lauren Peller and Anne Flaherty







