Lee Bergquist

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Seven members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted against giving back pay to federal workers on Friday, including Wisconsin's Glenn Grothman.

The House approved a measure with strong bipartisan support that would assure paychecks for federal employees. The vote was 411-7.

Grothman of Glenbeulah, who represents the 6th Congressional District, was one of seven Republicans who voted against the measure.

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President Donald Trump has indicated that he would sign the legislation, according to The Hill.

The shutdown has meant that federal employees in nine departments and some smaller agencies would not be getting their paychecks. The workers were either furloughed or required to work.

In an interview with the Journal Sentinel, Grothman said it was "awfully generous" to guarantee back pay to workers even in scenarios (like an extended shutdown) when they might not be working for months.

"We can work out something, for some sort of compensation, but to get paid full pay for maybe three or four months when you're not working?" Grothman said.

“That’s why we're $22 trillion in debt. These people around here can’t say no to anything,” he said of his colleagues.

The other congressmen to vote no were Republicans Justin Amash of Michigan, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Ted Yoho of Florida.

Grothman said that he is a co-sponsor of another bill that would pay government employees who worked during the shutdown.

"There is no reason that the people who are working should not get paid," Grothman said.

In the Senate, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said Friday that he is a co-sponsor, along with fellow Republican Susan Collins of Maine, of a comparable bill that would pay working employees during the shutdown.

"The least a dysfunctional Washington, D.C., can do is pay the people we are requiring to work during this shutdown to keep our nation and our homeland safe and secure,” Johnson said in a statement.

On Thursday, the Senate passed a bill that pays all federal employees after the shutdown ends. The bill was supported by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).

Washington Bureau Chief Craig Gilbert of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.