Horsford: Federal Workers Paying the Price for GOP’s Refusal to Keep Government Open

NORTH LAS VEGAS – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) responded to U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright announcing that 68 federal employees were furloughed from the Nevada National Security Site (NNSA).

Wright said approximately 2,000 federal contractors from NNSA could also be furloughed by the end of October without the guarantee of back pay when the government reopens. While U.S. law ensures federal employees receive backpay after a government shutdown, the same protections are not afforded to federal contractors.

Horsford, who represents where the 68 federal employees that Secretary Wright furloughed today work, released the following statement:

“For every federal employee that this administration furloughs, there is a family going without an income and bills going unpaid,” Rep. Horsford said. “As the third week of this Republican-led shutdown draws to a close, I’m appalled that Trump and Wright are using the GOP’s failure to govern as an excuse to threaten the livelihoods of Nevada’s dedicated public servants.

“Secretary Wright traveled across the country to make a spectacle of these furloughs when he could have simply traveled across town in Washington, D.C. to demand an end to this shutdown,” Horsford continued. “My Democratic colleagues and I are ready, willing, and eager to see this shutdown end and ensure health care is protected. But we cannot negotiate with ourselves, and Republicans have been on an extended vacation at the taxpayers’ expense. As the administration pursues furlough announcements and threats to backpay over bipartisan solutions to reopen the government, save healthcare, and lower costs, every Nevadan is right to question how any of this serves the greater good.”

Rep. Horsford is an original cosponsor of H.R. 5657, the Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act. The bill secures back pay for the thousands of federal contract workers who face furloughs and missed paychecks when the federal government is shutdown.

Horsford also introduced H.R. 5628, the Pay Workers What They’ve Earned Act, legislation that would reimburse federal employees for fees, interest, and fines charged through no fault of their own during a government shutdown. The bill would also reimburse state and tribal governments for costs incurred during government shutdowns. More information is available here.