{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-vasquez-leads-push-protect-troops-pay-amidst-shutdown", "Rep. Vasquez Leads Push to Protect Troops\u2019 Pay Amidst Shutdown", "2025-10-08", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "House", "NM", "Gabe Vasquez", "V000136", "vasquez.house.gov", "vasquez", "https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 On October 8, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) led a push to support our military service members amidst the ongoing government shutdown, urging Speaker Johnson to bring Republican lawmakers back to work in D.C. to pass a bill that ensures troops are paid by the looming October 15 deadline.\n\n\u201cIf Congress does not act by October 15th, nearly three million military families will miss their next paycheck. That\u2019s unacceptable \u2014 our military families and troops deserve better,\u201d noted the letter to Speaker Johnson, which was led by Rep. Vasquez, co-led by Rep. Derek Tran, and co-signed by 77 other House Democrats. Should Congress fail to act, 22,000 active duty and reserve personnel in New Mexico will be forced to work without pay.\n\n\u201cOur troops selflessly serve and defend our country every single day, and they deserve to be paid on time for their work,\u201d said Vasquez. \u201cI\u2019m calling on Speaker Johnson to do what\u2019s right for our military families and get Republicans back to Washington to vote to pay our servicemen and women. There\u2019s no excuse for inaction, because when it comes to paying our troops, there is no room for partisan politics.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur troops put their lives on the line for our freedom. They have our backs; Congress needs to have theirs. I\u2019m proud to fight for our troops to get the pay that they have earned. It\u2019s not just the right thing to do \u2014 it\u2019s essential for the safety of our country,\u201d said Rep. Derek Tran. \u201cAs a Veteran, I saw firsthand that our troops already make far too little \u2014 often living paycheck to paycheck. Instead of working across the aisle to deliver better pay and benefits for our troops, Republicans have taken a paid vacation while the government is shut down, leaving nearly three million military families out in the cold. Our heroes shouldn\u2019t have to pay the price for typical Washington dysfunction. I\u2019m proud to join Representative Gabe Vasquez to lead this important effort to get our troops the pay they have earned. I am eager to work across the aisle to reopen the government, protect health care, and stand up for the dedicated men and women who serve our country.\u201d\n\nThis push to protect troop pay builds on Rep. Vasquez\u2019s ongoing commitment to work across the aisle to reach a funding deal that ends the government shutdown, protects working class Americans\u2019 access to health care, and ensures New Mexico\u2019s state government isn\u2019t left to foot the bill for federal programs.\n\nVasquez is also a cosponsor of H.R. 5401, the Pay Our Troops Act, a bipartisan bill to ensure that services members, as well as civilian employees and contractors, are paid during the shutdown. The letter highlights that during the 2013 government shutdown, Congress successfully passed the Pay Our Military Act, a similar bill which provided pay for members of the Armed Forces during a government shutdown.\n\nAs a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Vasquez is a strong supporter of the U.S. military and the brave service members who defend our country.\n\nRep. Vasquez has repeatedly championed efforts to improve service members\u2019 quality of life, including:\n\nHis introduction of the TRICARE Travel Improvement Act, a measure which helps military families serving in remote areas access health care and was included in the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which just passed the House.\n\nHis support of a historic 14.5% pay increase for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% pay increase for all other service members in the FY25 NDAA.\n\nHis work to improve the availability and quality of housing and other quality of life infrastructure at remote installations such as White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) as a part of the FY25 NDAA, as well as a letter to the Secretary of the Army asking why $7 million in housing improvement funds were delayed from reaching WSMR for over a year.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-vasquez-leads-push-protect-troops-pay-amidst-shutdown"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5674307942390442, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}