WASHINGTON — A C-SPAN caller made an emotional plea to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Thursday to end the government shutdown, saying that “my kids could die” if she can’t afford their medication.
The woman, identified as Samantha from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, expressed concerns over what would happen to her family if military service members do not get paid next week. The caller, who was also identified as a Republican, said that she has “two medically fragile children” and that her husband “actively serves his country” and had spent two military tours in Afghanistan.
She brought up comments Johnson made Wednesday when asked if he would allow a vote on a bill to provide military members with emergency pay if the shutdown continues. Johnson told reporters that Democrats were “clamoring to get back here and have another vote, because some of them want to get on record and say they’re for paying the troops. We already had that vote. It’s called the CR,” referring to the short-term funding bill that the House passed but Democrats do not support.
“If we see a lapse in pay come the 15th, my children do not get to get the medication that’s needed for them to live their life, because we live paycheck to paycheck,” Samantha told Johnson.
The exchange occurred as Johnson was taking questions live from C-SPAN viewers who called in to the network Thursday morning. According to C-SPAN communications director Howard Mortman, Johnson is the fourth sitting speaker to join the network in studio and take questions from callers, and the first since 2001.
Active-duty military members had been scheduled to be paid next Wednesday, but if the shutdown continues, they will not receive payments for October work.
Samantha said that she was “very disappointed in my party, and I’m very disappointed in you.” She pointed out that Johnson had the power to call the House back into session. The House is set to return on Tuesday.
“I am begging you to pass this legislation,” she said. “My kids could die.”
In response to a request for comment, Johnson’s office referred NBC News to statements he made publicly.
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Johnson told Samantha he was “angry because of situations just like yours.” He noted that his congressional district is home to many military families, including families who “have children in health situations like yours.”
“This is what keeps me up at night,” he said. “I want you to hear something very clearly: The Republicans are the ones delivering for you.”
Johnson continued, casting blame on Democrats for not voting for the GOP-backed continuing resolution, which would reopen the government and provide short-term funding at the same levels as before the shutdown began. Democrats have been pushing Republicans to address health care issues first, noting that Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, which would increase the cost of health care.
“The Democrats are the ones that are preventing you from getting a check. If we did another, a vote on the floor, pay troops, it’s not a lawmaking exercise, because [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer is going to hold that up in the Senate,” Johnson said.
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Schumer’s office said, “We have no idea what Speaker Johnson is talking about.”
The Senate has failed seven times, largely on party lines, to pass two funding bills, the House-passed GOP bill and one from Senate Democrats.
Schumer also slammed Republicans during a Senate floor speech Thursday, reiterating that they "refuse to negotiate."
"Every day that Republicans refuse to negotiate to end this shutdown, the worse it gets for Americans and the clearer it becomes who is fighting for them each day. Our case to fix health care and end the shutdown gets better and better, stronger and stronger, because families are opening their letters showing how high their premiums will climb if Republicans get their way, they’re seeing why this fight matters," Schumer said. "It’s about protecting their health care, their bank accounts, their futures.”
Johnson also detailed the C-SPAN conversation to reporters later Thursday morning at a news briefing, pointing to the shutdown’s impact on military families.
“Many are deployed right now, defending your freedom around the world,” he said. “And they left their young families at home. They live paycheck to paycheck. Many of these, these service members, and this is not a game.”
But Johnson made it clear on a conference call with House Republicans on Thursday that he does not plan on passing a standalone bill to pay the troops before Wednesday, when military personnel are set to miss their first paychecks, according to two Republican sources on the call.
During the call, Johnson received some slight pushback from GOP members over his strategy. Two Republicans spoke up to express their concerns over the House’s remaining out of session, the sources on the call said, but several others spoke up in support of the idea.
