USDA says SNAP benefits won't be issued on Nov. 1

A group of mostly Democratic lawmakers penned a letter to White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought requesting an immediate clarification that federal workers will receive back pay at the conclusion of the government shutdown.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is one of the lead signatories. However, she is the only Republican to sign on to the bicameral letter that has over 100 additional Democratic members signed on.

The lawmakers applaud President Donald Trump for previously signing legislation that guarantees back pay for federal workers. They say the law needs to be enforced.

"The law is clear: all impacted government employees, regardless of excepted or furloughed status, are entitled to back pay after a government shutdown ends, which is consistent with the guidance currently provided by federal agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management," the letter reads.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

House Republicans are watching their seven-week stop-gap measure to fund the federal government gradually lose its utility, as Senate Democrats run out the clock on the House-passed bill and leave lawmakers at a shatterproof impasse with no end in sight.

Since passing their bill on Sept. 19, House Republicans have argued their clean continuing resolution would afford appropriators sufficient time to pass all 12 appropriations bills through regular order -- a monumental task that hasn't occurred on Capitol Hill since 1997. Johnson wants to buck the trend of backroom deals cut by the four corners of power in Congress.

"It just gives us some more time to have that negotiation. And by the way, that clock is getting sooner every day, November 21st," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Wednesday. "That date is going to get closer every day -- where we're not going to have as much time to negotiate our differences."

The House has canceled three weeks of legislative business during the shutdown, and the speaker says he will not bring lawmakers back to Washington until the deadlock breaks.

-ABC News' John Parkinson

In remarks on the Senate floor on Wednesday, both Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused the other party of being dug in on the government shutdown.

"Fifteen days into a government shutdown Democrats show no sign that they're ready for it to end," Thune said. "Not even the prospect of military families going without a paycheck was enough for Democrats to reopen the government. Nor are Democrats concerned about needing families uncertain about the future of nutrition assistance, or Americans in flood zones who are unable to update their insurance or close on a home in the midst of hurricane season," Thune said on the floor.

"Nope, Democrats are dug in. And all those Americans living in uncertainty? Well they're just going to have to wait until Democrats' far-left base is satisfied," he said.

Schumer made similar accusations.

"It has now been over two weeks since Republicans shut the government down because they refused to work with Democrats in a serious way to fix the health care crisis looming over the American people," Schumer said.

"Republican leaders, especially Speaker [Mike] Johnson, continue to dig in. The speaker has now kept the House republicans on vacation for three weeks, as if they can make the issue go away by letting House Republicans hide. Well, the American people don't have time for Republican inaction," Schumer said.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

The Senate is expected to vote on Wednesday for the ninth time on a "clean" funding bill that would reopen the government through Nov. 21, though it is likely to be another doomed attempt to end the impasse.

The House remains out of session, though House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries will hold press conferences. There seems to be little movement toward any alternative solution in the Senate.

Meanwhile, a federal judge in California will hold a hearing over a request from unions to temporarily pause the layoffs of more than 4,000 federal workers and stop any additional notices being sent out. Amid these firings, President Donald Trump is renewing his threat to also cut "Democrat programs" as the shutdown drags on. He said a list of those programs will come Friday.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin and Justin Gomez