Tell Congress to Act NOW and Fund Our Government
Visit afge.org/shutdown and urge your members of Congress to pass funding and stop the shutdown.
Much is at stake for federal employees and the American public when it comes to funding our government. The missions of our agencies depend on full and consistent funding from Congress. The good news is, you can do something about it.
The last time Congress shut down the government for 35 days in December 2018 and January 2019, nearly 800,000 federal workers were either required to work without pay or were furloughed from their jobs without pay. AFGE members struggled to pay bills and feed their families. They drove for ride shares, went to food banks, and were forced to take out loans that caused some employees years of hardship. They also stepped up to share what they had among themselves, like creating on-site food banks for struggling workers.
It’s completely unthinkable that they may have to go through this again because Congress has so far failed to do their job.
The last shutdown created a long-lasting financial hardship for working Americans while damaging our economy and creating security risks for our nation.
That’s why AFGE is urging members of Congress not to repeat the same mistakes they made a few years ago. They need to come together to either pass full-year funding or a clean short-term measure to keep our government running and protect our country and the services we provide to the American people.
“Shutting down the government is no way to run our country,” said AFGE President Everett Kelley. “We need Congress to do the right thing and pass funding to keep our government running.”
Some of the highlights of the damages done the last time Congress shut down our government:
AFGE Launches Shutdown Page With Tools for Members, Local Leaders
Visit afge.org/shutdown and urge your members of Congress to pass funding and stop the shutdown.
AFGE is relaunching our shutdown page at afge.org/StopTheShutdown to provide facts, information, and actions members can take to help avoid a shutdown. The site includes talking points, a sample letter to the editor, sample media release, and other important information.
In a major victory for AFGE and allies, a district court judge May 9 issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking President Trump’s unconstitutional reorganization of the federal government.
Read More
House Republicans are pursuing at least $50 billion in cuts to Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) benefits to help pay for a $4.5 trillion package of tax cuts that would primarily benefit the rich and large corporations, a priority for President Trump.
Read More
Week 16 saw Trump laying off thousands of workers at Interior and Labor and planning to let go 80,000 VA employees taking care of veterans.
Read More
