{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/schatz-van-hollen-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-pay-all-federal-employees-servicemembers-and-contractors-during-shutdown", "Schatz, Van Hollen, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Pay All Federal Employees, Servicemembers, & Contractors During Shutdown", "2025-10-23", "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 Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai\u2018i) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined over 20 Senators in introducing legislation to pay all federal employees \u2013 both those excepted and furloughed \u2013 as well as our servicemembers and federal contractors during the current Republican-led shutdown. The Senators\u2019 legislation, the True Shutdown Fairness Act, would also prevent the Administration\u2019s attempts at mass firings (Reductions in Force or RIFs) while the government is shut down. Senator Van Hollen will be calling for a vote on the legislation today.\n\nThe legislation is cosponsored by Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai\u2018i), Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-N.M.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai\u2018i), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).\n\nThe Senators\u2019 legislation is endorsed by American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), Partnership for Public Service, and The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).\n\n\u201cWhile House Republicans are on a paid, monthlong vacation in the middle of a shutdown, federal employees and contractors \u2013 who have bills to pay and families to take care of \u2013 are being forced to go weeks on end without a paycheck. Our bill ensures that federal workers and servicemembers are not punished because of the Republicans\u2019 refusal to show up to work and negotiate an agreement that prevents health care costs from skyrocketing,\u201d said Senator Schatz.\n\n\u201cNo federal worker or servicemember should be punished for this shutdown that was brought on through no fault of their own. Republicans are hell-bent on letting Trump pick winners and losers here, but every federal worker, servicemember, and federal contractor deserves to get paid. Our legislation would ensure just that, and if Republicans are serious about supporting our federal employees, they will support it. We must keep pressing to reopen the government with a responsible agreement that holds the President accountable to the law, protects federal workers and our servicemembers, and prevents massive spikes in Americans\u2019 health care costs,\u201d said Senator Van Hollen.\n\nBackground on the True Shutdown Fairness Act:\n\nThe True Shutdown Fairness Act would immediately restart pay for all excepted and furloughed federal workers, servicemembers, and federal contractors during the current shutdown. The Senators\u2019 legislation also includes a prohibition on Reductions In Force while the federal government is shut down. Federal employees are ensured retroactive pay after a shutdown ends due to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act \u2013 legislation that Senators Van Hollen, Cardin, Kaine, and Warner worked to pass in 2019 and that was then signed into law by President Trump.\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-van-hollen-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-pay-all-federal-employees-servicemembers-and-contractors-during-shutdown"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9573670104146004, "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"}