Sen. Chuck Schumer sent a letter to President Trump urging his administration to “move at all due speed” and ensure the federal employees who have not received a paycheck during the 35-day government shutdown get paid.
“We owe it to the American people to turn the page on this crisis and do everything possible to return to normal operations, and that effort begins with delivering workers’ back pay,” Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, wrote in the letter.
The longest partial government shutdown in US history has created a dire financial crisis for many federal workers, making it difficult for them “to buy groceries, pay their rent, mortgage and other bills,” he said in the letter.
“None of these workers are to blame, but they sure are now suffering,” it said.
In comments announcing the letter on Sunday, Schumer also called for the Trump administration to make whole federal contractors who have not been paid during the shutdown and find a solution for small businesses who lost money.
Citing a S&P Global Ratings Report released last Friday that concluded the nation’s economy took a $6 billion hit over the past month, Schumer said he would back a bipartisan effort from Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) to put an end to future shutdowns.
“Even more importantly, we must avoid shutdowns in the future, because no federal agency should ever be held hostage in this way ever again – and there’s a legislative way, a bi-partisan way to do this, and the next few weeks will provide the opportunity to get it done,” Schumer said on Sunday.
Trump signed a bill last Friday that would reopen the government until Feb. 15 while a bipartisan committee continues to hash out the president’s demand for increased border security, including $5.7 billion in funding for a wall.
About 800,000 federal employees were working without pay or were placed on furlough after the government shut down Dec. 22.
Dear President Trump:
I write on the heels of the bi-partisan agreement to reopen our government and to request that your Administration move at all due speed to quickly process the back pay of hundreds-of-thousands of federal workers who have been furloughed for the past 35 days. I further write in hopes of spurring a solution for the unpaid contractors and small businesses also impacted by the government shutdown.
The length of this shutdown, as you know, was unlike any other. This prolonged crisis left many Americans—and New Yorkers—struggling to buy groceries, pay their rent, mortgage and other bills. None of these workers are to blame, but they sure are now suffering. These federal workers, many with years of service to the Federal government, do their jobs with both a passion for public service and an apolitical mindset. These folks deserve a solution that puts their back pay into their bank accounts as soon as possible, because to truly end the negative impacts of this shutdown, New Yorkers and Americans need their paychecks.
Moreover, seeing this call to action through is of benefit to the overall economy. As detailed in a recent ratings report, this shutdown has cost our economy roughly $6 billion dollars and its effects will likely last for many more months. We owe it to the American people to turn the page on this crisis and do everything possible to return to normal operations, and that effort begins with delivering workers’ back pay.
Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your anticipated cooperation in compensating all federal workers, as well as impacted contractors, who continue to need our help.
Sincerely,
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer
