Altria: 5 Reasons To Buy

Summary

• Altria's core business of smokeable products has the highest market share in the United States, more than any of its competitors.
• The company is trying to diversify its portfolio as its customer base burns.
• Altria stands to benefit the most from the tax reform bill, which the company can use to reward shareholders or further diversify its cash flow.
• MO's volatility is relatively lower, mainly thanks to a strong balance sheet.
• Since the spin-off, Philip Morris International became more mature and the exes might get back together.

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I invested in a sin company, specifically the Big Tobacco.

Over the path month, I have been researching consumer goods companies. Initially, I believed I was going to invest in a recession-proof company like Procter & Gamble (PG) or Clorox (CLX). Not even close. I'm going to be a bad boy, set aside the social responsibility consequences, and invest in a sin stock. As Gordon Gekko said in the famous "Wall Street" movie, "greed is good."

The addictive nature of cigarettes helps make its sales insensitive to a rise in the product price, stricter regulations, or a recession. In other words, the inelastic nature of cigarettes helps the Big Tobacco companies maintain relatively stable earnings.

Out of all industries, tobacco is the best performer since the 1900s. "After 1965, when the health impact of tobacco became well known, US tobacco companies outperformed comparable firms by more than +3% per year over the period 1965-2006. Moreover, even though US tobacco companies faced a barrage of litigation during this period, they outperformed their international peers," Credit Suisse stated in its 2015 Global Investment Returns Yearbook.

Yes I know, "past performance is not indicative of future performance." Based on my research, I'm going to go ahead and invest in the tobacco industry with significant barriers to entry. I'm investing in Altria Group (NYSE:MO) for the following 5 reasons*:

* = I'm using my mental model of weighted criteria to make this investment decision (don't laugh)

1) Core Business - Smokeable Products (25% weight)

Despite shrinking U.S. smoking population, Altria's earnings have continued to grow and grow. The smoking rate fell from 42% of the US adults in 1965 to 15% in 2015, an all-time low. From 1990 to 2015, Altria's net income grew 48%, as the prices of cigarettes rose.

Prices and Taxes for a Cigarette Pack in the U.S. in 2014 dollars
Source: Dan Kopf, Priceonomics

The company gets all of its revenue from the U.S. Its sister company, Philip Morris International, who was spun off a decade ago gets all of its revenue aboard.

For years, Altria's market share accounted and still accounts for half of the U.S. cigarette market. Starting from the bottom in 1954, its leading cigarette brand Marlboro accounts for 44% retail share in the U.S.

2015 Marlboro Retail Share
Source: 2016 Annual Shareholders Meeting Presentation

A pack of Marlboro costs almost $7 in the United States. In countries like Canada and Australia which has a similar smoking rate as the U.S., a pack of Marlboro costs over $10 and $20, respectively. It leads me to believe Altria still has the pricing power to boost its earnings.

2) Diversification In The Long-Run (25% weight)

The company is trying to diversify its portfolio to protect against the downside of shrinking customer base. In 2016, smokeable products accounted for 86% of Altria's revenue, down from 91% in 2010. This shouldn't be much of a concern as the shrinking smoking rate is a long-term problem for Altria. The management has done an excellent job in the past, and I believe they will continue to do so over the coming years. One way they will do that is by diversifying their business segments. The company has been concentrating on three platforms; smokeless products, e-vapor, and heated tobacco.

Smokeless products accounted for 10% of revenue in 2016, up from 6% in 2010. The margins for the smokeless products are higher than it is for smokeable products.

Altria Adjusted Operating Companies Income Margins
Source: 2016 Annual Shareholders Meeting Presentation

In 2009, the company acquired UST, maker of smokeless tobacco products. The company's smokeless segment revenue as a percentage of total revenue continues to grow steadily. Because smokeless products are less risky than cigarette smoking, cigarette smokers are migrating to smokeless tobacco.

Smokeless Tobacco Harm Reduction Potential
Source: 2016 Annual Shareholders Meeting Presentation

However, there's this misperception majority of tobacco consumers believe smokeless tobacco is as harmful or more harmful than cigarettes. In a 2015 federal survey, participants were asked if smokeless tobacco products were less hazardous than cigarettes,

• Only 11% of participants correctly answered "yes"
• 67% responded "no"
• 22% didn't know

In other words, 89% of Americans have no clue that dipping and chewing are 98% safer than smoking. Over time, I believe more consumers will start to realize smokeless tobacco is less dangerous, and that apparently should help the smokeless tobacco manufacturers.

Like the cigarette market, Altria accounts for half of the U.S. smokeless tobacco market. One of the smokeless tobacco brand, Copenhagen, had about 22% market share before the acquisition of UST in 2009. After acquiring the company, Altria increased the brand's market share to 34% in the third quarter of 2017. Over the coming years, the company plans to introduce more products.

Another alternative to cigarettes and smokeless tobacco is e-vapor. Like smokeless tobacco, electronic cigarettes are safer than the traditional cigarettes. They generate cigarette-like margins at scale. The U.S. is the largest e-vapor market in the world, with about 10 million consumers who account for about 37% of the world's vapers. Altria's retail market share in the e-cigarette market recently has climbed to 14% due to the continued expansion of the brand MarkTen XL.

The U.S. e-cigarette grew $1.2 billion between 2013 and 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of just over 22% to reach $50 billion by 2025, with the U.S. leading the way. While e-cigs are not a big part of Altria at this time, they plan to concentrate on it and are planning to introduce more vaping products to enhance its portfolio.

Altria's Planned PMTA/MRTPA Submissions
Source: 2016 Annual Shareholders Meeting Presentation

And the significant potential of all is the heated tobacco. Philip Morris's tobacco device called iQOS has seen tremendous growth in the international markets the product launched. It claims to eliminate 90 to 95% of the toxins found in traditional cigarettes. Instead of burning tobacco, it heats it.

How IQOS smokeless cigarettes work
Source: Washington Post

The sister company is licensing IQOS to Altria for use in the U.S. FDA is expected to decide this year whether the "game-changing" product should be marketed and sold nationwide. IQOS has been very successful for Philip Morris International and can be the same for Altria.

Philip Morris has launched IQOS in more than 30 markets internationally. Since it launched in spring of 2017, 72% of smokers in Japan completely migrated to IQOS. That's 10-12 times the quit rate of vaping and smokeless tobacco.

In the third-quarter, PM's market share in Japan increased 5.2% from a year earlier, with 8.4% increase from the heatsticks (so basically the market share from cigarettes alone fell 3.2% as consumers quit the traditional cigarettes and switched to IQOS). In South Korea, 83% converted to IQOS and PM's market share in heatsticks jumped 2.3% to 2.5% in a year. PM's market share in heatsticks increased in other markets as well, including European countries.

One study disagreed with Philip Morris's claims. The study found that IQOS produced 295% more of one hazardous compound than cigarettes (to be specific, the compound is called "acenaphthene," which is used to make dyes, plastics, and pesticides). More negative studies can be found here, here, here, and for an easier read, Reuters article.

Afterwards, Philip Morris published academic countering the study's claims and questing the study's methodology and interpretation. Positive studies can be found here, here, and the millions of documents PM submitted to FDA.

The point is nobody really knows if FDA will approve the "game-changing" tobacco product. It's 50/50 here, and the Altria's share-price really hasn't priced in anything. FDA will have the final say. It's all speculation right now, and I'm not buying the stock solely based on the speculation (buying the stock for 5 reasons). The point I'm making is that the Altria's management is trying to diversify the business over the long-run. It won't happen overnight.

To make things interesting, Altria has a small exposure to beer and wine, unlike other tobacco companies. The company owns 10% of AB InBev (BUD), the world's first global and largest brewer. Like Altria, BUD also has a strong track record of dividend growth. From the dividends alone, the tobacco company collected $739 million in 2016, about 4% of revenue which is pretty significant.

Altria's wine division accounted for almost 4% of total revenue in 2016, up from 2% in 2010. It's not that big of a deal at the moment. What's more important is the Altria's corporate strategy, to diversify income streams.

Like cigarettes, alcoholic drinks' demand is less sensitive to price changes. Like cigarettes, I don't consume wine. However, I do drink beer.

3) Tax Cuts, Strong Balance Sheet, Dividends (25% weight)

Over the past years, the effective tax rate for Altria was close to 35% (Philip Morris is close to 27%). Altria stands to benefit more from the Tax Cuts And Jobs Act which will cut the corporate tax rate to 21%.

Because there are many moving parts with taxes and accounting, I won't be doing analysis in-depth here. I read a fellow Seeking Alpha contributor article solely focused on how the new tax plan will impact Altria. His analysis is top-notch!

According to Scott Kennedy, MO's 2018 EPS is expected to grow 17%, and the adjusted diluted EPS to increase $0.36 or 9.56%. The increase in EPS is expected to provide more than 10% dividend increase.

MO's current dividend yield is 3.71%, double the size of British Amercian Tobacco (BTI). MO's dividend yield is pretty impressive for a company with low leverage. Altria's current total debt-EBITDA is 1.4x, which is much lower than its competitors* of 3.12x. PM's leverage 2.9x and BTI is at 3.4x.

* = Vector Group, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco, Turning Point Brands, BTI, and PM.

Over the past 47 years, MO has increased dividend 50 times. The profit boost from tax cuts can also be used to increase buybacks. From 2011 to 2016, the company returned $28 billion to shareholders. About 80% of it came from dividends and the rest from share repurchase. The $28 billion figure is larger than Clorox's market cap., which is one of the recession-proof stocks I researched for potential investments and decided a "no-no."

The company aims to maintain a dividend payout ratio of approximately 80% of adjusted diluted EPS, which is close to what REITs distribute. While paying high dividends, the company managed to keep its balance sheet healthy.

In addition to the low leverage, the company has an average annual free cash flow of over $4.5 billion. The company currently has $2.6 billion in cash and $13.9 billion in debt. All of the debt is fixed-rate, unsecured, and with long maturities. 90% of the debt is not due until 2044. A 1% increase in interest rates would decrease the fair value of total debt by approximately $1.2 billion. They also have a revolver of $3 billion, which expires in August 2020.

4) High Stock Return and Low Volatility (20% weight)

For the past 2 years, I have been trying to reduce the volatility of my passive portfolio. Before any new investment, I check their historical returns and volatility. MO's daily, monthly and annualized standard deviations are lower than its main peers while having greater returns. In theory, the higher risk, the higher return should be.

Correlation Analysis
Source: Portfolio Visualizer

MO's 0.61 beta is lower than its peers mainly thanks to its strong balance sheet, with PM at 0.91 and BTI at 1.04. SD and beta is not the same thing.

By buying MO, portfolio beta will increase by 0.07 to 0.43, mainly because MO will have the third largest weight in the portfolio. However, the standard deviation is expected to decrease as this is the first consumer goods stock for the portfolio that is uncorrelated to the majority of holdings.

In times of financial crisis, correlations across many securities and asset classes tend to increase. However, more broadly diversified equity portfolio should be able to stay more resilient to the downside. By investing in MO, the portfolio's total risk decreases.

5) M&A (5% weight)

There have been rumors that Altria's sister company might acquire them (at a premium of course). In my experience, rumors that takes place continuously tend to become true some months and years later.

One of the primary basis is that PM would want access to the United States market if FDA approves IQOS. If their competitors were to merge with other competitors, that would increase the probability of PM and MO getting back together. Except, a major merger already took place. Last year, BTI acquired Reynolds Americans at 26% premium.

By getting back together, MO and PM will lower their risk profile, especially from the negative foreign-exchange impact. In 2015 and 2016, strong dollar shaved off $1.19 and $0.43 per share in earnings for PM, respectively. Altria's dollar-denominated $25 billion annual revenue would dilute the fluctuations from Philip Morris Internationa's non-dollar-denominated $75 billion annual revenue.

At the time of the spin-off, the U.S. market was seen as a saturated market at high risk of litigations with little room for growth. Meanwhile, the international market offered room for growth. Now the latter is more mature; maybe the exes will get back together. The stronger connection will provide some cost synergies.

Conclusion

Altria is the leading company in an industry with significant barriers to entry. Its core business of smokeable products has the highest market share in the United States, more than any of its competitors. The company is trying to diversify its income streams in the longer-run, as the smokeable products slowly become saturated. While the smoking demographic continues to burn, the company is trying to diversify its business with smokeless products, e-vaping, heated tobacco, and alcoholic beverages.

Altria stands to benefit the most from the tax reform bill. The increase in earnings from a cut in corporate taxes might reward shareholders in the form of dividends or buybacks. It can also be used to diversify its cash flow further. In addition to benefiting the most from the tax reform compared to its peers, the tobacco company also has greater financial flexibility.

Altria's lower leverage with manageable debt profile will be an advantage in a rising interest rate environment, as its relatively higher leveraged peers' financial flexibility are limited. Altria's healthy balance is the main reason its share-price is not as much volatile as its competitors.

While Altria operates only in an advanced country with slowing smoking geographic and stricter regulations, it shouldn't be a concern in the medium-term. In addition to trying to diversify its cash flow, the company does not experience adverse foreign exchange effects as its sister company Philip Torres does.

If Altria were ever to find itself in a deteriorating financial condition, it is possible its sister company rescue us the shareholders with an acquisition at a premium.

I believe MO is a great vice stock that will appreciate over longer-term, in addition to its growing dividends. Every time a person coughs after inhaling the chemicals, we collect a dividend payment. Through sickness and health, it's a beautiful symbiotic relationship.

Author's note: If you have any questions/comments/suggestions, feel free to contact me personally and/or leave a comment below. Thank you for reading. Don't forget to subscribe.

Analyst’s Disclosure: I am/we are long MO. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

All the data comes from Altria and Philip Morris's investor relations website, S&P Capital IQ, Finviz, Portfolio Visualizer, and few websites which are linked in the article.

Comments

[somedata1]

Sentiment is not on MO and PM side. I know I know. I have been through tough that with Gilead.

[mo_strategist]

You mean FDA sentiment? Of course not. The FDA TPSAC was stuffed with individuals who have made professional careers out of anti-tobacco research and activity. I think it was plain before that panel even met (and I said so beforehand) that it would be a "tough sell".

On the other hand, the FDA has to be pragmatic here. The FDA head put out a stated plan of switching everyone to lower risk products and said explicitly what everyone knows. . .that these vape based products are safer than ordinary cigarettes. Kind of hard to see how he's going to get his plan in action if the FDA rejects every single electronic nicotine system market approval request.

I can see not giving IQOS reduced risk status. Burden of proof there was set high (IMO probably too high. . .that's a different issue/question), and that was always going to be a tough hurdle. But blocking IQOS from the marketplace would probably eventually boomerang and hurt the FDA.

Again, IQOS, right now, is probably the #1 most used reduced risk product on the planet in terms of volume/user base. Its got, by far, the most scientific data showing relative safety vs standard cigarettes. Even the FDA scientific panel conceded that the data showing lower toxic exposure was sound. If the FDA does not let this product into the market via the PMTA (non reduced risk) pathway, its not going to be able to let *ANY* electronic product in, because none of them have anywhere near the safety data that PM does.

Instead, the FDA will effectively be enforcing a ban on EVERY electronic cigarette, EVERY vape based device, and EVERY HNB product like IQOS. Not only is that not what the FDA head says he wants to do, but I don't think the public is going to go for that either. The FDA itself would be held under the microscope and its not going to like that.

Given that the FDA has already allowed in one new product category (snus) via PMTA, I think its pretty likely to allow in IQOS too. That's basically just a question of time.

[allenmccabe]

I was looking for a good reason to get back on the MO train; you gave me 5, thanks! Opened a new position yesterday.

[Buyandhold 2012]

"Forgive me ,Father, for a have sinned. I invested in a sin company, specifically the Big Tobacco."

Thank God I started sinning in 1970 and invested in Philip Morris. I even bought more shares over the years whenever it appeared to be cheap.

I read that the average annual return on Philip Morris since 1970 has been about 20%.

Now Philip Morris, Altria, Kraft Heinz and Mondelez are about 20% of my total portfolio of 39 stocks.

It sure as hell pays to sin in the stock market. And making money is fun.

CALPERS apparently doesn't like to sin and sold all of its tobacco stocks.

Selling a great investment like the tobacco stocks. Now that's a real sin.

[sirfatboy2014]

MO Money! $$$

[mo_strategist]

Ah, so-called "socially responsible" (politically correct cowardly) investing. See here for why this is harmful for those who engage it in: https://seekingalpha.c...

The main point of this form of investing is to screw stakeholders out of potential return to satisfy loud complaints by puritans.

As more food for thought, here's why, if you think cigarette companies are "evil" you are MORALLY OBLIGATED to own cigarette stock:

http://bit.ly/2GaZWIf

And lastly, why smoking is a public service, and why, if you think smoking is terrible, you should be supporting Altria/PM: http://bit.ly/2F5kfFC

[ghummer57995]

MO is an amazing company, I worked for,them for a short period of time until I retired. Very well structured and takes care of its employees extremely well. With such negative publicity they still manage to make a healthy profit each year. Amazing.
Of course these new smokeless products are revolutionary but I think the elephant in the room is the legalized pot reality. Can you imagine what would happen if MO and other big tobacco companies start mass producing pot, and it's only a matter of time.
I would buy on any kind of dip,

[MikeC@35]

"Father forgive me for I have sinned."

I absolve you. I can do that because I am a Catholic priest. I'm also an Altria shareholder.

[rich01]

All that’s well and good, but what happens if Commissioner Gottlieb and the FDA order that all traditional cigarettes shall reduce their nicotine levels to non addictive levels, and do not approve IQOS as a reduced risk product, or worse yet, fail to approve it for sale in the US?

[arthur_bishop1972]

"They shoot us."

---Val Kilmer in 'Real Genius'

[FinancialPadishah]

That will never happen. Big tobacco is a major funding machine for all 50 States. Tobacco and Government bed-sharing is just one more political dirty little secret.

[mo_strategist]

That would be like ordering unicorns to come and bring him lunch. Nicotine is an addictive substance. The only "non addictive" nicotine levels are probably zero. This is like ordering Budweiser to market non-addictive beer. . .its exists (its called "O Douls"). . .just nobody wants to buy it!

Furthermore, the FDA lacks the regulatory authority to a. lower nicotine levels to the point where cigarettes are destroyed as a product category, or b. require manufacturers to manufacture product that can't be made. IE, I don't think there is currently commercially available quantity of low nicotine tobacco to do this, even if the tobacco companies wanted to do it.

In practice, before the FDA can do this, its going to need to go through a formal process evaluating data to justify this swap, including probable effect on black market cigarette sales. As a matter of public policy, forcing cigarettes to contain negligible nicotine is questionable, if you're going to permit nicotine to remain legally in the marketplace.

Lastly IOQS could be approved for sale without qualifying as a reduced risk product. It will still be on shelves, just MO won't be able to legally claim is safer.

[Scott Kennedy]

Hi Khojinur,

I believe this is a very informative and useful article. Your analysis covered multiple MO product lines and provided very good information from different sources.

Thanks for taking the time out (I'm assuming multiple hours) to compile this data and present it to the S.A. community. I also appreciate the quick reference / link to my latest MO article.

Scott

[Dividends#1]

Khojinur Usmonov,

Excellent article!

Keep adding to your MO position, my strong suggestion!!!

[G. Blair Bauer]

Right on,Div1;PM & MO have been the best damn stocks I have owned for 32 years. Also have done well in the last 2 years with BTI & VGR.

[AlieGee]

Like VGR also for the dividend -- stock trades sideways. Maybe it's the real estate division holding the stock down.

[olde1two]

Sin stock make money right or wrong its up to ones own decision.
People dont have to buy there products but chose to do so.
Smoking is bad drinking is bad people still do it.
It's there choice to use it and our choice ti invest in it. These companies are regulated and people know the issues with there products and still use them
With all of the legalization of MJ no one is talking about the issues that will be happening in the future health issues.
Long Mo !!

[AlieGee]

All the major tobacco stocks are great holds. Sin stocks have been in for as long as I've been investing and that is quite long !

[KennethNoisewater]

Long MO here. Maybe the only benefit to our current immigration policy is that we're bringing in lots of people who like to smoke more than Americans do. It's odd how no one talks about this. If I was Altria I'd be in Dick Durbin's corner all the way. And it's Gekko, not Gecko.

[FinancialPadishah]

Interesting comment. Never thought about that!

[RWDS]

Good point. Smoking is growing inside the USA too.

[Khojinur Usmonov]

Hi Kenneth,

Interesting thought. However, I saw an opposite data on this. According to one study, the smoking prevalence among migrants is consistently lower than both of the country of origin levels and the US level.

"The prevalence of smoking among migrants (men: 14.2%, women: 4.1%) was lower than both the US-born group (men: 21.4%, women: 18.1%)"

Source: http://bit.ly/2G6w6V4

A different study which supports your thought in a way says this, "The findings also demonstrated that smoking increases in both prevalence and frequency with the duration of US residence among Asian immigrants. Among Latino immigrants, smoking only increased in frequency. Furthermore, the researchers found that, regardless of the amount of time spent in the United States, immigrants who form strong connections, such as English language proficiency and citizenship acquisition, benefit from reduced smoking. They noted that the reason may be because these immigrants are less stressed and have higher socioeconomic standing."

Source: http://bit.ly/2F9oD6y

[RWDS]

Smoking is as popular as ever in Europe, Asia, and basically everywhere other than the USA. Even doctors and nurses smoke in Europe. It is absolutely commonplace like it hasn't been in the USA since the 1970's.

I hold a long position in MO and it has been good to me.

[Growtheport]

@RWDS. Well, it hasn't been good for others.

Tobbaco products kills seven million people every year and costs society $2 trillion annually in medical expenses. The industry uses child labour in the production of its product, is blacklisted as an investment by governments who are signatories to the United Nations Tobacco Treaty, and it's future profitability faces material legislative, regulatory, and litigation risks.

Ugh. It's really hard to understand how most of you who post here so casually make remarks about smokers and the impact of smoking.

[KennethNoisewater]

Or maybe it's in the financial interests of some "ethical investing" consultants to demonize MO and then ring the register. "Oh hey we don't like MO, let's put you in TSLA, a much more ethical company." LOL.

[tonyh3930]

millions of people get killed in car accidents each year...should I sell my auto stocks...millions die from drinking alcohol each year should I sell those stocks.. where do you draw the line..especially when this genre of stocks are your best performers....

[the conservative speculator]

good read, thanks. I have a large MO position , looking to add PM if the price becomes more attractive.

[Berto7]

Potential growth catalyst... cannabis?

[Khojinur Usmonov]

The U.S. marijuana market is about 6 times smaller than the US tobacco market. But, it is expected to grow in double digits over the coming years. While the trend is towards the legalization of marijuana is in place, like most people, I have no doubt companies like Big Tobacco would want to get involved, but it's too early for me to speculate if and if so when Altria will get involved. The management knows what it's doing it and I will leave it up to them whatever if they want to enter the market or not. At the time I invested in MO, I did not take into the account of Altria's potential entry into marijuana market.

One thing I find interesting is that the effective tax rate for marijuana products are about 20%, while for cigarettes it is from 50 to 120%. With the lobbying power Altria has, they can push for higher taxes to discourage competition, especially from smaller players. 

On the other hand, more extensive regulations and taxes will encourage black market transactions.

They can also try to discourage competition by supporting strong testings before products can be launched. The amount of capital needed to finance the testings, etc would discourage some competition. 

Tax rate source: http://bit.ly/2GcwzFo

[ehelpies]

Purchasing MO is exactly what I agree with; however it is not as popular as it should be,visavie BTI.

[arthur_bishop1972]

<>

I don't believe this is correct, even if FX aren't right. I know BTI's payout ratio is lower, around 65%, and they are switching to quarterly dividends this year. I believe they will announce how much on Feb 1, or thereabouts.

[PACKER man]

Long MO and PM; any product that is so protected from rationality (smoking does KILL) and can raise its prices at will for an addiction product is a STRONG BUY for me and has been :)

[Sunshine123]

Great article indeed. And fact-based. I am long MO, PM, BAT and VGR. I have never smoked anything. But sin stocks do pay well.

[Glen Easton]

Have both PM & MO.

[User 1345391]

Altria is a well run Company with a strong history of proving excellent returns for it’s shareholders. In a free society men and women once presented with the basic facts should be allowed to make their own choices. Anyone believing that the government cares one iota about their well being should have their head examined. They can’t even agree on passing a budget to keep our government running. To make things even worse once they finally do pass a budget the first thing they will do is pay everyone retroactively currently sitting at home.
So we the citizens wind up paying once again for absolutely nothing.

[jerryjc5]

Great comment njja, spot on.

[cdostrom]

Some government workers are sitting at home. Others (hint: our troups) are risking their lives to keep us safe, all while not getting paid. Shame on Schumer.

[Davy_L]

Boo. Republicans have both House & Senate majorities, and a President who cannot decide what he wants for a spending bill.

Also, to be clear - our active troops are EARNING their pay - they will be fully paid once the shutdown is over. Only part-time (Reserve & National Guard) are not earning pay.