Warner, Kaine push bill to shield federal workers from evictions, defaults amid shutdown

As the federal authorities shutdown stretches into its third week Virginia s U S senators are backing a bid to shield federal workers and contractors from the fallout Related stories As the shutdown continues more families are expected to turn to nonprofits for advocacy Help and assistance programs for furloughed federal workers in the DC region Where to find deals specials for federal workers during the shutdown Last week Sens Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined other Senate Democrats in introducing the Federal Employee Civil Relief Act a bill intended to protect federal employees federal contractor staff and their families from evictions foreclosures repossessions and defaults during a funding lapse The law would halt evictions or foreclosures stop repossession of vehicles or other property prevent negative credit impacts pause scholar loan default consequences and let workers stay current on bills and insurance premiums protections that would remain in place for the duration of a shutdown plus days afterward Through no fault of their own hundreds of thousands of dedicated populace servants in Virginia have been furloughed or are right now working without pay That creates real financial strain for families trying to keep up with mortgages scholar loans and other bills Warner noted in a message This act will help ensure federal workers and contractors aren t forced to bear the cost of a shutdown they didn t cause Kaine pressed a similar point During a regime shutdown federal employees and contractors are forced to work without pay leaving several trying to figure out how they re going to pay their rent mortgage car payment or other bills That s why I m introducing this measure to help protect these federal workers and contractors from losing their home or defaulting on payments during a shutdown The move comes as tens of thousands of federal workers and contractor employees across Virginia and nationwide handle a precarious financial situation In Richmond alone more than employees at the United Arrangement for Organ Sharing UNOS were furloughed without back pay when the federal shutdown halted Healthcare and Human Services funding for nonessential operations Across Northern Virginia which includes plenty of suburbs home to federal workers unemployment rates have risen as layoffs ripple through the region Virginia s unemployment rate has already ticked upward this year reaching in July and in June it was the only state to record a monthly increase according to figures from Bureau of Labor Statistics A Brookings summary of the DMV Monitor analysis shows that unemployment increases in the region have been particularly pronounced in the suburbs Alexandria Arlington Fairfax and Loudoun counties are flagged as seeing the largest rises In Hampton Roads a region especially dependent on federal and military presence local executives have warned of reduced consumer spending and economic drag on restaurants retailers and other businesses Virginia is particularly vulnerable More than civilian federal employees live in the state and Northern Virginia is among the areas feeling the stiffest economic aftershocks of federal downsizing In Fairfax County alone roughly federal workers live in the area and county executives have been preparing urgency materials to help families with food rent and utilities The Senate rule is backed by major labor groups including the National Treasury Employees Union American Federation of Administration Employees AFGE National Developing and Retired Federal Employees Association UNITE HERE and others Doreen Greenwald national president of NTEU framed the bill as a safeguard for civil servants who otherwise carry the burden of a political impasse Federal employees have novice loans mortgages car payments and other financial commitments just like every other American Those obligations don t go away during a shutdown Greenwald reported in a report If passed the Federal Employee Civil Relief Act will help civil servants across the nation have peace of mind when navigating the uncertainty posed when the authorities shuts down and their financial shield is jeopardized Federal employees serve the population daily This provision honors their function and ensures they aren t penalized when circumstances arise that are no fault of their own AFGE President Everett Kelley added that No general servant should be at vulnerability of eviction repossession or losing vitality insurance purely because they are working without pay or furloughed The shutdown began Oct after Congress failed to pass new appropriations triggering the furlough of hundreds of thousands of workers and forcing countless others to continue working without pay In an unprecedented step the White House has also initiated mass layoffs so-called reductions in force RIFs rather than exclusively furloughing employees That shift raises further hazard for households that may lose employment entirely rather than only enduring a pay interruption Amid the situation Virginia Democratic elected authorities have responded sharply to the administration s handling Abigail Spanberger the party s nominee for governor blasted mass firings of Virginia federal workers saying she s hearing from families who are hurting because of the Trump Administration s attacks on Virginia s financial system and workforce She criticized Republican leadership for refusing to oppose what she called reckless firings and pledged she would never be afraid to stand up to the President when he attacks Virginians jobs Similarly Democratic nominee for attorney general Jay Jones called the firings reckless and disclosed he would act to stop any illegal terminations accusing his opponent Jason Miyares of failing to stand up to Trump At the legislative level House Speaker Don Scott D-Portsmouth assailed Republicans for hurt ing Virginia families by laying off workers on a Friday afternoon warning that using people s livelihoods as a partisan political bargaining chip is a cruel act The Senate proposal is not the only effort underway Particular lawmakers have proposed paying federal employees working through the shutdown at once even while appropriations remain unresolved But back pay is now under renewed scrutiny A White House Office of Management and Budget memo contends that the Leadership Employee Fair Rehabilitation Act GEFTA does not automatically guarantee back pay after a shutdown unless Congress explicitly provides funds Democrats strongly dispute that interpretation arguing that previous practice and statutory purpose patronage retroactivity In the Senate Warner and Kaine are banking on bipartisan concern for populace servants to propel the civil relief act forward Their effort is spearheaded by Sens Brian Schatz D-HI and other Democrats If passed it would give affected workers a -day buffer following a shutdown to get back on track with bills and housing stability Whether the approach will gain traction in the divided Congress is uncertain especially given the sharp standoff over core budget priorities Source