Friday, April 8, 2011

House nixes Owens bill to rescue military's pay

Watertown Daily Times | House nixes Owens bill to rescue military's pay

WASHINGTON — The House cast aside a proposal by Rep. William L. Owens Thursday to rescue military pay in the event of a government shutdown, as Republicans insisted on linking that issue to budget cuts in other areas.

Mr. Owens's measure, offered as a Democratic alternative to the GOP's one-week spending extension, fell on a party-line vote. One Republican, Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., supported it.

The Republican measure passed the House easily, although Mr. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, and most Democrats voted against it. It cuts $12 billion and funds the Defense Department through the end of the fiscal year, removing the possibility that defense employees and soldiers would be affected by a shutdown.

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