While news reports seed fear in U.S. troops that they won’t get their paychecks because of the government shutdown — and President Donald Trump is vowing the military will be paid — reportedly Congress will have to pass some sort of funding legislation by Monday to get payroll processed by the standard mid-month pay date.
Congressional aides told Reuters that legislation would have to pass by October 13 for the troops’ payroll to process on time for October 15 delivery, given the number of people involved.
As in past shutdowns, troops continue reporting to work as their roles are considered essential for national security.
The shutdown began on Oct. 1 after two thirds of the Senate failed to pass an ongoing resolution to fund the government in a dispute over Affordable Care Act premiums.
There have been at least seven failed votes in the Senate as of Thursday. More than 750,000 workers across the government have been furloughed.
President Trump has said he would support a separate bill to get the troops paid until the Senate dispute is resolved with a continuing resolution.
“We’ll take care of it,” Trump said Wednesday. “Our military is always going to be taken care of.”
There are roughly 1.3 million active-duty members who make up the U.S. military, in addition to hundreds of thousands of National Guard members and non-service members employed by the Department of War, according to news reports.
Troops are expected to receive back pay once the shutdown ends.
Pressure to fund the troops is not limited to President Trump.
Rep. Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA) introduced the Pay Our Troops Act on Sept. 16, but it was not passed before the shutdown. That legislation authorizes continuing appropriations for military pay during a government shutdown or in the event appropriations are not in effect.
The National Military Family Association wrote in its Facebook post that nearly 35,000 letters have been sent to Congress requesting the passage of H.R. 5401, dubbed the Pay Our Troops Act.
Nearly 35,000 letters have now been sent to #Congress demanding they pass the Pay Our Troops Act (H.R. 5401). But our…
Posted by National Military Family Association on Monday, October 6, 2025
A similar bill kept military members paid in a 2013 shutdown.
Meanwhile, as AFP reported with Breitbart News, military members are already taking out bridge loans to get through the expected pay gaps and to take advantage of paycheck protection programs with lenders.
The Navy Federal Credit Union has already seen applications for its program during this shutdown, a spokesperson told AFP. It helped some 19,000 people with loans totaling more than $50 million during the last shutdown in 2019.
“We’re not getting paid because people in D.C. who are getting paid can’t get on the same page,” a long-serving U.S. Air Force employee told AFP.
He added, “Not only are we working without pay, we’re actually doing more without pay, because our civilian teammates have all gone home on furlough. That’s not good for troop morale.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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