WASHINGTON, Miss. — You won’t have to worry about another government shutdown anytime soon. Congress has passed a new two-year budget bill and that bill is now on its way to President Obama.
The Senate vote passed Wednesday afternoon 64-36 even though both Mississippi Senators voted no. Thad Cochran said he voted no because it would end the government sequester. Rodger Wicker’s no vote was because the bill would make cuts military retirement.
The Military Officers Association of America issued a report showing that military personnel “who serve a 20 year career would lose nearly 20 percent of their retired pay. An E-7 retiring at age 40 today would experience a loss of $83,000 in purchasing power – an O-5 would lose $124,000.”
Wicker’s amendment to prevent those military cuts from happening failed.
Mississippi’s Republican representatives in the US House all voted yes on the budget deal but Democrat Bennie Thompson voted no.