{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/schatz-leads-group-of-18-senators-in-introducing-legislation-to-protect-federal-workers-and-their-families-from-losing-their-homes-falling-behind-on-paying-bills-during-shutdown", "Schatz Leads Group Of 18 Senators In Introducing Legislation To Protect Federal Workers And Their Families From Losing Their Homes, Falling Behind On Paying Bills During Shutdown", "2025-10-08", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "HI", "Brian Schatz", "S001194", "www.schatz.senate.gov", "schatz", "https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai\u2018i) today led a group of 18 senators in introducing the Federal Employee Civil Relief Act. The legislation would protect federal workers, federal contractor employees, and their families from foreclosures, evictions, and loan defaults during a government shutdown.\n\n\u201cWhile the President and congressional Republicans continue to refuse to work with Democrats to stop health care costs from skyrocketing and reopen the government, people are suffering,\u201d said Senator Schatz. \u201cRight now, hundreds of thousands of federal workers, federal contractor employees, and their families don\u2019t know whether they\u2019ll be able to pay rent and make ends meet. Our bill will protect these workers and make sure they aren\u2019t harmed during this shutdown.\u201d\n\nCosponsors of Schatz\u2019s bill in the Senate include Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai\u2018i), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.). Companion legislation in the House of Representatives is set to be introduced by U.S. Representative Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.).\n\n\u201cRepublicans control the House, Senate, and Presidency \u2013 and they have led our country into a shutdown to avoid bipartisan negotiations or a discussion about the impending Republican-led healthcare crisis. Now, Republicans and the White House are even threatening to not provide legally mandated backpay to workers,\u201d said Leader Schumer. \u201cUnfortunately, there are real people \u2013 with real concerns about pay and livelihood \u2013 who are being used as political pawns in the Republicans\u2019 attempt to cater to billionaires and special interests. Senate Democrats remain committed to protecting federal workers who are affected by this shutdown. With the passage of the commonsense Federal Employee Civil Relief Act, federal workers could rest a little easier knowing they and their families are protected from foreclosures, evictions, and defaults during this tumultuous period.\u201d\n\n\u201cFederal workers should not have to pay the price for the Trump Administration\u2019s decision to shut down the government. While the President and congressional Republicans refuse to save Americans\u2019 health care and fund our government, federal workers are left without a paycheck, worrying that they won\u2019t be able to pay their mortgage or rent,\u201d said Senator Durbin. \u201cI\u2019m joining my colleagues to introduce the Federal Employee Civil Relief Act to ensure that federal workers are protected from the impact of Republicans\u2019 shutdown.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor nine months, Donald Trump has taken a sledgehammer to our federal workforce, intimidating and purging hardworking public servants as he consolidates power. Now, he\u2019s threatening to use the Republican shutdown to inflict even more pain,\u201d said Senator Padilla. \u201cCalifornia has one of the largest federal workforces in the country, and we must ensure they can pay their bills and stay in their homes through any future shutdown.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur federal workers should not be at risk of losing their homes, falling behind on loans, or failing to meet insurance and childcare payments because of this shameful Republican shutdown. This legislation would help protect our dedicated civil servants from financial harm caused through no fault of their own as we work to responsibly fund the government without handing a lawless president a blank check or allowing a massive spike in health care costs for families across America,\u201d said Senator Van Hollen.\n\n\u201cWhen Congress fails to do its job, hundreds of thousands of hardworking Americans are either sent home or forced to work without pay. The financial pain this causes is real \u2014 families across the country are still expected to pay their bills even as they go without a paycheck,\u201d said Senator Gillibrand. \u201cWhether it\u2019s being evicted or having their cars repossessed, federal employees shouldn\u2019t lose the essentials they rely on because lawmakers failed to keep the lights on. I\u2019ll keep fighting to support our federal workers and get this critical legislation across the finish line.\u201d\n\n\u201cPatriotic, hardworking civil servants shouldn't be punished because of Republicans cruelty and inability to govern. I am proud to join in fighting to protect our civil servants - including the over 260,000 civil servants in Maryland - so they don't lose their homes, health insurance, or cars,\u201d said Senator Alsobrooks.\n\n\u201cInstead of negotiating with us to ensure our government works for the American people, Trump is forcing millions of workers through a needless government shutdown and threatening to withhold their backpay despite signing the law guaranteeing it himself,\u201d said Senator Duckworth. \u201cThe longer this shutdown continues, the more harm they\u2019ll cause to federal workers across the country and their families. Our bill would help protect federal employees until Republicans finally come to the negotiating table and help find a bipartisan solution that meets the needs of the American people, addresses the health care crisis and reopens our government.\u201d\n\n\u201cFederal workers provide essential services to our government and our country, and their livelihoods should not be used by Trump and Republicans as a bargaining chip in this shutdown,\u201d said Senator Hirono. \u201cThese workers shouldn\u2019t be punished for a shutdown that they had no control over, and I\u2019m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the Federal Employees Civil Relief Act. This legislation would help hundreds of thousands of federal employees, ensuring that they have a chance to keep up with their bills and continue to support themselves and their families.\u201d\n\n\u201cDuring a government shutdown, federal employees and contractors are forced to work without pay, leaving many trying to figure out how they\u2019re going to pay their rent, mortgage, car payment, or other bills,\u201d said Senator Kaine. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m introducing this legislation to help protect these federal workers and contractors from losing their home or defaulting on payments during a shutdown.\u201d\n\n\u201cMissing even one paycheck can put immense stress on federal employees and their families, including young children,\u201d said Senator Cortez Masto. \u201cThese public servants are not responsible for Washington\u2019s dysfunction, and they should not lose their homes or suffer long-term financial consequences because the government has shut down.\u201d\n\n\u201cFederal workers and contractors should not suffer because President Trump and Republicans refuse to negotiate a bipartisan government funding bill that adequately addresses the health care crisis,\u201d said Senator Booker. \u201cCongress must act to ensure these workers are protected from penalties resulting from delayed mortgage, insurance, or student loan payments caused by this Republican-led shutdown, during which they are not receiving pay. I will continue to fight for relief for our hardworking federal workers and contractors, and for a funding bill that puts the American people first.\u201d\n\n\u201cFederal workers make our government work for New Mexico families \u2014 from caring for our veterans to maintaining our public lands and keeping our communities safe. They shouldn\u2019t have to suffer because Republicans in Congress refuse to come to the table and work with Democrats to lower health care costs,\u201d said Senator Heinrich. \u201cEvery hardworking New Mexican deserves the dignity of financial stability and security. The Federal Employees Civil Relief Act will help ensure that the folks who keep our country running aren\u2019t left wondering how they\u2019ll pay their bills or keep their homes during Trump\u2019s manufactured crisis.\u201d\n\n\u201cThrough no fault of their own, hundreds of thousands of dedicated public servants in Virginia have been furloughed or are currently working without pay. That creates real financial strain for families trying to keep up with mortgages, student loans, and other bills. This legislation will help ensure federal workers and contractors aren\u2019t forced to bear the cost of a shutdown they didn\u2019t cause,\u201d said Senator Warner.\n\nSchatz\u2019s legislation addresses the threat of federal workers and contractors losing their homes, falling behind on student loans and other bills, having their car repossessed, or losing their health insurance because they have been furloughed during a shutdown or required to work without pay. The Federal Employee Civil Relief Act would protect impacted workers from:\n\nBeing evicted or foreclosed;\n\nHaving their car or other property repossessed;\n\nFalling behind on their student loan payments;\n\nHaving negative effects on their credit history;\n\nFalling behind on paying their bills; or\n\nLosing their insurance because of missed premiums.\n\nThe protection would last during and 30 days following a shutdown to give workers a chance to keep up with their bills. The government shutdown, now in its second week, impacts thousands of federal workers and federal contractor employees in all 50 states.\n\nThe Federal Employee Civil Relief Act is supported by the National Treasury Employees Union, International Federal of Professional and Technical Engineers, National Federation of Federal Employees-IAM, American Federation of Government Employees, National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, UNITE HERE, LIUNA (Laborers' International Union of North America), and the Transport Workers Union.\n\n\u201cFederal employees have student loans, mortgages, car payments, and other financial commitments just like every other American. Those obligations don\u2019t go away during a shutdown. Thanks to the leadership of Senator Schatz, 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 government shuts down and their financial security is jeopardized. Federal employees serve the public daily. This legislation honors their service and ensures they aren\u2019t penalized when circumstances arise that are no fault of their own,\u201d said Doreen Greenwald, National President of NTEU.\n\n\u201cOn behalf of our members, we strongly support the Federal Employees Civil Relief Act. This bill provides essential protections for federal workers who, through no fault of their own, face severe financial hardship during a government shutdown. No public servant should be at risk of eviction, repossession, or losing health insurance simply because they are working without pay or furloughed,\u201d said Everett Kelley, President of AFGE.\n\n###", 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://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/schatz-leads-group-of-18-senators-in-introducing-legislation-to-protect-federal-workers-and-their-families-from-losing-their-homes-falling-behind-on-paying-bills-during-shutdown"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8915560320019722, "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"}