Press Releases

U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) joined U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02) in urging House Speaker Mike Johnson to pass legislation ensuring servicemembers are paid before the October 15th deadline. Starting October 15th, servicemembers will start missing paychecks if a bipartisan funding deal isn’t reached. California has the most active-duty military members, with about 157,500 working in the state.

“Our troops serve with honor and sacrifice. They shouldn’t have to worry about putting food on the table or making rent,” said Rep. Carbajal, a veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee. “Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are in control of Congress and the White House – they can end this shutdown today. Instead, they are choosing to hold our troops, military families, and federal workers hostage for political gain. I will continue to stand up for our troops, and push Republicans to end this shutdown in a way that protects Americans’ healthcare.”

Carbajal, a veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, is also a cosponsor of H.R. 5401, the Pay Our Troops Act, a bipartisan bill to ensure that servicemembers, as well as civilian employees and contractors, are paid during the shutdown. 

Democrats in both the House and Senate have argued that any deal to reopen the federal government needs to protect the expanded tax credit subsidies for health insurance purchased through Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges. Those tax credits and the eligibility for them were expanded by Democrats in 2021 under then-President Biden and are scheduled to expire at the end of December. If the tax credits are not protected in a stopgap bill, millions of Americans could lose their health insurance.

If Republicans allow these vital tax credits to expire, an estimated 35,000 Central Coast residents will face higher health care costs, and nearly 10,000 could lose coverage entirely.