Senate, House passed bill to give feds back pay
January 14, 2019
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The Insider
The House and Senate passed a bill that would provide back pay for federal employees forced to work without pay or locked out of their jobs without pay during the shutdown.
The bill, S. 24, passed the Senate and the House Jan. 10 and Jan. 11 respectively. President Trump said he would sign it.
The bill also applies to employees of the D.C. government, D.C. Courts, and D.C. Public Defenders Service affected by the shutdown. It also clarifies that excepted employees who have previously approved leave during the shutdown may take that leave without penalty.
“AFGE and federal employees thank the House and the Senate for guaranteeing backpay for our civil servants,” said AFGE President J. David Cox Sr. “While this is good news, employees are still left to wonder when they will be paid and when they will be able to go back to work. We need to reopen the government now!”
The bipartisan bill is co-sponsored by Maryland senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and three dozen senators.
“Federal workers are dedicated public servants who shouldn’t continue to suffer – working dangerous jobs without knowing when their next paycheck may come, or being forcibly furloughed and unable to carry out their mission – because of the government shutdown. Passage of our bill may not answer the question of when a paycheck will come, but it will guarantee that a paycheck will come when this shutdown finally ends,” said Senator Cardin. “We need to reopen the government immediately. Until we do, passage of our bill should be a sign of good faith and respect for federal workers, as well as a sign to creditors that our public servants will be made financially whole again.”
What you can do now
Call your senators now! We must put pressure on every senator to insist Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell bring H.R. 21 and H. J. Res. 1 to the floor for a vote.
You must urge your senators to vote to reopen our government.
