WASHINGTON — Conservative House Republicans slammed a multimillion-dollar giveaway to eight GOP senators tucked into legislation ending the government shutdown on Tuesday night, but said they had no choice but to move the bill forward.
During a meeting of the House Rules Committee to set up a vote Wednesday that could end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Democratic and Republican members of the panel repeatedly bashed the senator payday provision.
Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) read parts of the provision from the dais in seeming disbelief that senators would write a bill that so directly rewards themselves.
“I personally agree this should be removed,” Scott said. “The problem is, if we remove it, it has to go back to the Senate.”
Scott suggested the provision would make it difficult to vote for the bill.
