{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cleaver-joins-bipartisan-call-urging-trump-administration-follow", "Rep. Cleaver Joins Bipartisan Call Urging Trump Administration to Follow Law on Back Pay for Furloughed Federal Workers", "2025-10-15", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Emanuel Cleaver", "C001061", "cleaver.house.gov", "cleaver", "https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) joined U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), along with U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and 163 other lawmakers, in urging Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to follow the law\u2014which president Trump signed in 2019\u2014that requires furloughed federal employees to receive back pay during a government shutdown. Despite this explicit law, President Trump and Director Vought have continued to bully and target our dedicated federal workforce, including by threatening to illegally withhold back pay after the shutdown ends. In a bipartisan letter to Director Vought, the lawmakers underscore that the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which was passed and signed into law during the last shutdown under President Trump, is clear that all federal employees, whether they are excepted or furloughed, are entitled to back pay after a government shutdown ends. There are more than 30,000 federal workers that reside in Missouri\u2019s Fifth Congressional District.\n\n\u201cDuring the 2018-2019 shutdown, we worked with President Trump to enact the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act (GEFTA) of 2019, the intent of which is clear \u2013 federal employees are entitled to retroactive pay in the event of a government shutdown. We applauded President Trump for signing this bipartisan bill into law,\u201d the members wrote.\n\n\u201cThe law is clear: all impacted government employees, regardless of excepted or furloughed status, are entitled to back pay after a government shutdown ends, which is consistent with the guidance currently provided by federal agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management (OPM),\u201d the members wrote. \u201cOPM\u2019s shutdown guidance from September 2025 still states that furloughed federal workers will be provided back pay once the government reopens.\u201d\n\nThe members continued, \u201cThe decision by OMB to remove critical guidance on federal employee back pay is causing unnecessary stress for the federal workforce comprised of nearly 2.2 million employees.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe request you immediately clarify and update the Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations Document and other relevant materials to affirm that furloughed employees will receive back pay, as is required by law,\u201d the members concluded.\n\nIn addition to Cleaver, Kaine, Murkowski, Beyer, and Hoyer, the letter is cosigned by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). It is also cosigned by U.S. Representatives Alma Adams (D-NC-12), Gabe Amo (D-RI-01), Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ-03), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-04), Becca Balint (D-VT-AL), Wesley Bell (D-MO-01), Ami Bera (D-CA-06), Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02), Shontel Brown (D-OH-11), Julia Brownley (D-CA-26), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), Janelle Bynum (D-OR-05), Andr\u00e9 Carson (D-IN-07), Greg Casar (D-TX-35), Ed Case (D-HI-01), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20), Judy Chu (D-CA-28), Yvette Clarke (D-NY-09), Jim Costa (D-CA-21), Angie Craig (D-MN-02), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04), Diana DeGette (D-CO-01), Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10), Maxine Dexter (D-OR-03), Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37), Sarah Elfreth (D-MD-03), Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16), Dwight Evans (D-PA-03), Shomari Figures (D-AL-02), Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-07), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Lois Frankel (D-FL-22), John Garamendi (D-CA-08), Jes\u00fas Garc\u00eda (D-IL-04), Robert Garcia (D-CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29), Dan Goldman (D-NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH-02), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05), Jahana Hayes (D-CT-05), Pablo Hern\u00e1ndez (D-PR-01), Steven Horsford (D-NV-04), Val Hoyle (D-OR-4), Glenn Ivey (D-MD-04), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL-01), Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Hank Johnson (D-GA-04), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37), Bill Keating (D-MA-09), Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), Greg Landsman (D-OH-01), John Larson (D-CT-01), Summer Lee (D-PA-12), Susie Lee (D-NV-03), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-03), Mike Levin (D-CA-49), Ted Lieu (D-CA-36), Stephen Lynch (D-MA-08), Doris Matsui (D-CA-07), Lucy McBath (D-GA-06), Sarah McBride (D-DE-AL), April McClain Delaney (D-MD-06), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-04), Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), James McGovern (D-MA-02), LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10), Robert Menendez (D-NJ-08), Grace Meng (D-NY-06), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-07), Dave Min (D-CA-47), Gwen Moore (D-WI-04), Joe Morelle (D-NY-25), Seth Moulton (D-MA-06), Frank Mrvan (D-IN-01), Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15), Jerry Nadler (D-NY-12), Joe Neguse (D-CO-02), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-AL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Johnny Olszewski (D-MD-02), Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05), Frank Pallone (D-NJ-06), Chris Pappas (D-NH-01), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO-07), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03), Emily Randall (D-WA-06), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), Luz Rivas (D-CA-29), Deborah Ross (D-NC-02), Raul Ruiz (D-CA-25), Andrea Salinas (D-OR-06), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-05), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), Hillary Scholten (D-MI-03), Bobby Scott (D-VA-03), Terri Sewell (D-AL-07), Brad Sherman (D-CA-32), Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12), Adam Smith (D-WA-09), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10), Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10), Tom Suozzi (D-NY-03), Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14), Emilia Sykes (D-OH-13), Mark Takano (D-CA-39), Mike Thompson (D-CA-04), Dina Titus (D-NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02), Paul Tonko (D-NY-20), Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15), Derek Tran (D-CA-45), Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), Juan Vargas (D-CA-52), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02), Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez (D-NY-07), Eugene Vindman (D-VA-07), James Walkinshaw (D-VA-11), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-25), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), Nikema Williams (D-GA-05), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL-24).\n\nThe official letter from lawmakers is available here.\n\nEmanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cleaver-joins-bipartisan-call-urging-trump-administration-follow"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0840902104973793, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}