By: Everett Kelley, AFGE National President
This week, Congress pushed our nation into the fourth week of a full government shutdown – an avoidable crisis that is harming families, communities, and the very institutions that hold our country together. Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight.
Today I’m making mine: it’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship. Put every single federal worker back on the job with full back pay — today.
As president of the American Federation of Government Employees, I represent over 800,000 federal and D.C. government workers who serve with pride and professionalism.
They ensure our skies are safe, our veterans receive care, our borders are protected, and our food is inspected. They come from every political background and every corner of this nation. What unites them is a simple belief: that service to country is honorable work.
Today, that belief is being tested. The Army nurse in San Antonio, the TSA officer in Atlanta, the USDA food safety inspector in Iowa, and hundreds of thousands more like them are being asked to keep our country running without the paychecks that keep their own households afloat.
These are patriotic Americans – parents, caregivers, and veterans – forced to work without pay while struggling to cover rent, groceries, gas and medicine because of political disagreements in Washington. That is unacceptable.
Unfortunately, shutdowns have become a recurring tactic in Washington. But there is no “winning” a government shutdown. They cost taxpayers billions, hurt small businesses, and erode confidence in government itself. And the American people know this. That’s why 9 out of 10 Americans think this government shutdown is a problem.
It’s time for our leaders to start focusing on how to solve problems for the American people, rather than on who is going to get the blame for a shutdown that Americans dislike.
Because when the folks who serve this country are standing in line for food banks after missing a second paycheck because of this shutdown, they aren’t looking for partisan spin. They’re looking for the wages they earned. The fact that they’re being cheated out of it is a national disgrace.
It’s long past time for our leaders to put aside partisan politics and embrace responsible government. A strong America requires a functioning government — one that pays its bills, honors its commitments, and treats its workforce with respect by paying them on time.
The path forward for Congress is clear:
Reopen the government immediately under a clean continuing resolution that allows continued debate on larger issues.
Ensure back pay for every single employee who has served or been forced to stay home through no fault of their own.
Work together on a bipartisan basis to address important policy matters like addressing rising costs and fixing the broken appropriations process.
None of these steps favor one political side over another. They favor the American people – who expect stability from their government and responsibility from their leaders.
The national interest requires Congress to act immediately to bring every federal employee back to work, pay them for the work they’ve already done (or been locked out from doing), and continue having the debates and disagreements that are the hallmark of a strong democracy – without punishing the people who keep our nation running.
The government belongs to all of us. Let’s open it back up and keep America moving forward.