WASHINGTON—As the federal government shutdown reaches its fourth week, lawmakers are preparing a vote on a bill to pay troops and some other federal employees who have continued to work through the shutdown.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) introduced the bill, dubbed the “Shutdown Fairness Act,” last week, amid the ongoing government funding standoff. Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and other lawmakers have joined him in introducing it.
While Johnson said his measure offers “a permanent fix that will ensure excepted workers and our troops are paid during a shutdown,” many Democrats have voiced objections to the legislation, raising the prospect they will introduce an alternative….