REPORTS: Trump Personally Guaranteed Coast Guard Pay In December During Shutdown

Here's more on the report, from the Washington Examiner:

Concerned about U.S. Coast Guard forces losing a paycheck in the partial government shutdown, President Trump personally urged his team to find a solution that would allow the administration to make this week’s $75 million payroll, according to officials. 

Trump stepped in on Wednesday, calling on top lawyers and staffers to determine if the Coast Guard could make payroll despite being included in the shutdown that has impacted about 25 percent of the government, including the Department of Homeland Security, which houses the Coast Guard. 

Military personnel under the Department of Defense are not included in the shutdown, because their appropriations were approved earlier in Congress. 

Officials said that Trump was keen to find a “way we can fix this” as news media stories about the Coast Guardsmen's plight started to pile up. 

At his urging, the Office of Management and Budget, DHS and the Coast Guard determined that the rules governing pay to Coast Guard forces requires it be made through the end of the year. To make it, the lawyers said that unused funding could be tapped for pay. The service had a bit more than the needed $75 million left over from its past continuing resolution appropriation, enough to make this month’s last payroll check. 

“The president is trying to make the shutdown as painless as possible for workers, and this case proved it,” said an official. 

The administration also sped up check writing in other cases and was able to deliver this week a payroll check to furloughed federal employees for time worked up to the shutdown, which began Dec. 22. 

In a email to Coast Guard forces, Vice Commandant Adm. Charles Ray said, “This is outstanding news for our military workforce.”

The Coast Guard's official website had more:

Will Coast Guard members get paid on Dec. 31? Yes, the Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Coast Guard have identified a way to pay our military workforce on Dec. 31, 2018. This one-time action applies to military members that served on active duty in the month of December and those reserve military members that drilled prior to the lapse in appropriation.

• If you were an active duty military member in December, then you will receive your monthly paycheck on Dec. 31, 2018. That paycheck will include all of the normal pay and allowance benefits (e.g. basic pay, BAH, BAS, etc.).
• If you were a reservist that served on active duty during the month of December, you will also receive your monthly paycheck on Dec. 31, 2018 and it will include all of your normal pay and allowance entitlements.
• Finally, if you were a reservist that conducted reserve training prior to Dec. 21, 2018, then you will receive the appropriate pay and allowance entitlements on Dec. 31, 2018.

The Blaze had more:

President Donald Trump asked his top staff members and attorneys this week to find a way to meet the U.S. Coast Guard's $75 million payroll despite the partial government shutdown. Trump is concerned that Coast Guard forces would lose a paycheck, the Washington Examiner reported. 

Why is this happening?

The Coast Guard is part of the shutdown that is impacting about 25 percent of the government. That includes the Department of Homeland Security, which the Coast Guard is under. Military personnel under the Department of Defense are not impacted because their funding was previously approved by Congress.

Trump reportedly noticed media reports about how the shutdown is causing hardships for Coast Guardsmen. Members of the president's team said his is adamant about finding a way to “fix this," according to the report. 

The Office of Management and Budget, DHS, and Coast Guard officials have determined that the Coast Guard must be paid through the end of the year. To meet the payroll, attorneys determined that “unused funding" could be used. The agency reportedly has just a little over the $75 million needed to make "this month's last payroll check," according to the Washington Examiner. 

The Trump administration also was able to pay furloughed federal employees for the time they worked prior to the shutdown, which began Dec. 22. 

In an email to Coast Guard forces, Vice Commandant Adm. Charles Ray called it “outstanding news for our military workforce."

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And from ABC News this was their take:

As the U.S. federal government shutdown enters its second week, the U.S. Coast Guardsaid late Friday it will be able to provide 42,000 active duty service members a one-time emergency payment on Dec. 31.

"The Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Coast Guard have identified a way to pay our military workforce on Dec. 31, 2018. This one-time action applies to military members that served on active duty in the month of December and those reserve military members that drilled prior to the lapse in appropriation," according to a post on the Coast Guard All Hands Blog.

The Coast Guard's official Twitter account tweeted the post late Friday.

The Coast Guard is a military service but it is part of the Department of Homeland Security, which is not funded. Approximately 42,000 active duty members are affected by the shutdown, which is in its eighth day.

Congress and President Trump remain deadlocked over budget appropriations for a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.

"This approval only covers the Dec. 31, 2018 paycheck. It does not guarantee a paycheck on Jan. 15, 2019. Meeting active duty and reserve military payroll for January 2019 will require a fiscal year 2019 appropriation, a continuing resolution, or passage of an alternative measure," the post said.

Members of the military who were on active duty, reservists who served on active duty during the month of December and retirees will receive monthly paychecks on Dec. 31. Reservists who conducted training prior to Dec. 21 will also receive the appropriate pay and allowance entitlements on Dec. 31, according to the post.

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