{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/florida-south-carolina-republicans-introduce-bill-ensure-capitol-police-pay-during-shutdown", "Florida, South Carolina Republicans Introduce Bill To Ensure Capitol Police Pay During Shutdown", "2025-10-30", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "Senate", "MS", "Cindy Hyde-Smith", "H001079", "www.hydesmith.senate.gov", "hydesmith", "https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/newsroom", "scraper", "By Jack Kaminsky\n\nIn the midst of an ongoing government shutdown, a group of Republican Senators, led by Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rick Scott (R-FL), introduced the Pay Our Capitol Police Act on Wednesday.\n\nThe legislation is designed to guarantee paychecks for the brave men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police\u2014including their essential civilian staff and contractors\u2014who continue to work without pay due to the funding lapse.\n\nSenator Rick Scott (R-FL) rebuked Senate Democrats, whom he blames for the government closure, which he and other Republicans have dubbed the \u201cSchumer Shutdown.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is despicable that Democrats continue to drag the Schumer Shutdown on, gladly accepting their own paychecks while refusing to open the government or pay our hardworking federal law enforcement, including our Capitol Police,\u201d Senator Rick Scott said in a statement. \u201cI am proud to join my colleagues to ensure these law enforcement officers, who put their lives on the line every day\u2026 aren\u2019t harmed by Democrats\u2019 political games.\u201d\n\nThe introduction of the bill comes as Congress remains deadlocked over a funding resolution to reopen the government.\n\nFocus on Essential Law Enforcement\n\nSenator Tim Scott (R-SC), a primary sponsor of the bill, emphasized the vital role of the Capitol Police. \u201cThe United States Capitol Police performs an essential service to our nation, protecting our nation\u2019s Capitol and all who serve within it,\u201d he stated. \u201cThe Pay Our Capitol Police Act guarantees they receive the pay and support they have earned. These officers protect the American people and an institution of our democracy, and they should not have to miss paychecks because of political games in Washington.\u201d\n\nThe proposed legislation would ensure continued appropriations to pay Capitol Police personnel for active service and is designed to be automatic and retroactive to the start of the shutdown, remaining in effect until the next appropriations bill is passed.\n\nCosponsors of the bill include a number of Republican Senators:\n\nBill Cassidy (R-LA)\n\nKevin Cramer (R-ND)\n\nLindsey Graham (R-SC)\n\nCindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS)\n\nJames Lankford (R-OK)\n\nJerry Moran (R-KS)\n\nMarkwayne Mullin (R-OK)\n\nLisa Murkowski (R-AK)\n\nDan Sullivan (R-AK)", 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://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/florida-south-carolina-republicans-introduce-bill-ensure-capitol-police-pay-during-shutdown"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8329250849783421, "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"}