Homeland Security Union Leader Signals Support for Retroactive Pay Bill
Legislation by Reps. Beyer, Wittman ensures DHS employees get paid in event agency funding runs out
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Federation of Government Employees strongly supports bipartisan House legislation introduced today that would ensure employees in the Department of Homeland Security are paid retroactively in the event of a funding lapse.
The legislation, introduced by Reps. Don Beyer and Rob Wittman of Virginia, guarantees that employees will be paid retroactively should a departmentwide shutdown occur.
"The prospect of a DHS shutdown is unsettling enough for employees, without the added worry of wondering whether they'll get paid when the shutdown ends," AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. "This bipartisan legislation takes at least one concern off the table, so employees can focus like they always do on protecting and serving the American public."
About 200,000 DHS employees would be forced to report to work without pay if Congress does not pass a funding bill for the department by the end of the week. These include Transportation Security Officers, Border Patrol agents, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Another 30,000 employees would be furloughed without pay during a shutdown.
"These employees have demanding, high-stress jobs that require their full attention. Wondering if they will get paid during a prolonged shutdown is a distraction they don't need and we as a nation can't afford," Cox said.
Cox said the best scenario would be for Congress to pass a bill funding DHS past the end of the week.
"Many of our employees live paycheck to paycheck, so even a one-week delay in getting paid could mean the difference between buying groceries or paying the rent," he said. "The best course of action is for Congress to pass a bill that keeps DHS open and operating without any impact on the workforce."
Click here for more on the impact of a DHS shutdown: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/j-david-cox-sr/what-a-funding-lapse-at-d_b_6743564.html.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia, including more than 83,000 in the Department of Homeland Security.
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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees
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