Pay Our Military Act of 2018
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on appropriationA law permitting federal agencies to spend money. The Constitution forbids any spending without one, Congress's 'power of the purse'.Read the full definition (opens a new tab).
Pay Our Military Act of 2018
This bill provides FY2018 appropriations for military pay and death benefits during any period in which interim or full-year appropriations for FY2018 are not in effect.
In the event of a government shutdown, the bill provides continuing appropriations for:
pay and allowances to members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, who perform active service (including drill) during the period;
payments of death benefits for individuals who die during the period; and
pay and allowances to civilian personnel or contractors of the Department of Defense (and the Department of Homeland Security in the case of the Coast Guard) who are providing support to members of the Armed Forces and payments in connection with death benefits.
The appropriations provided by this bill are available until the earlier of: (1) the enactment into law of specified appropriations legislation, or (2) September 30, 2018.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on January 19, 2018. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 19, 2018: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced it on January 19, 2018, and 48 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 46 Democrats, 2 independents.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 19, 2018, 3156 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3156 days ago, on January 19, 2018.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers