{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.smith.senate.gov/amid-government-shutdown-sen-smith-rep-pressley-introduce-bill-to-provide-back-pay-for-federal-contract-workers-including-low-wage-food-service-and-custodial-staff/", "Amid\u00a0Government\u00a0Shutdown, Sen. Smith, Rep. Pressley Introduce Bill to Provide Back Pay for Federal Contract Workers, Including Low-Wage Food Service and Custodial Staff", "2025-10-03", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "MN", "Tina Smith", "S001203", "www.smith.senate.gov", "tinasmith", "https://www.smith.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Following the federal government shutdown, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) introduced legislation to secure back pay for the thousands of federal contract workers who face furloughs and missed paychecks when the federal government is shutdown. Unlike federal employees, the thousands of federal contract workers\u2014including janitorial, food, and security services workers\u2014have no assurances that they will receive back pay to make up for their loss of hours and pay during a shutdown. The bill is co-led by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).\n\nThe Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act would ensure federal contract workers, including low-wage service workers providing security, food and janitorial services, are fairly compensated for the wages and benefits lost due to a lapse in appropriations, also known as a government shutdown. It is estimated that more than 327,000 federal contractors make under $15/per hour.\n\n\u201cThis is about fairness\u2014contract workers and their families should not miss a paycheck because of a government shutdown they did nothing to cause,\u201d said Sen. Smith. \u201cMany federal contractors work in jobs that are important for government operations, providing security, food service and janitorial work. These are often lower-wage jobs, with many workers living paycheck to paycheck. These workers can\u2019t afford to go without, and they shouldn\u2019t have to. In past shutdowns, contract workers haven\u2019t received back pay at the end of a government shutdown like regular government employees. And it\u2019s time we right that wrong.\u201d\n\n\u201cGovernment shutdowns are destabilizing events with devastating consequences for everyone\u2014especially for the thousands of low-wage service workers and their families. With Republicans choosing to shut down the government rather than work with Democrats to protect the lives and livelihoods of workers they represent, our bill would help ensure that federal contractors harmed by Republicans\u2019 cruel games are made whole,\u201d said Congresswoman Pressley. \u201cAs a former hospitality worker who knows what it is to live paycheck-to-paycheck, I\u2019m proud to join my colleagues in pushing this bill forward.\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom cafeteria workers and maintenance staff to security and construction workers, federal contractor employees do essential jobs for our government. These employees do not deserve to lose their paychecks due to a political dispute they had nothing to do with. That\u2019s why we\u2019re fighting to ensure that these hardworking people be made whole after this Republican-driven shutdown ends,\u201d said Senator Van Hollen.\n\n\u201cFrom taking care of our nation\u2019s parks to keeping our office buildings safe, federal contractors play vital roles in keeping our government running,\u201d said Senator Kaine.\u201cI was proud to successfully lead legislation in 2019\u2014the last time Trump closed our government\u2014to secure back pay for federal employees during government shutdowns. As Americans find themselves in yet another Trump shutdown, I\u2019m working with my colleagues on this legislation to provide our dedicated federal contractors peace of mind when it comes to their finances.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis Administration\u2019s witch hunt against our patriotic civil servants continues. Republicans control the White House, Senate, and House. They shut down of the government because of their own incompetence \u2013 they haven\u2019t brought down grocery costs, they haven\u2019t brought down housing costs, they haven\u2019t brought down health insurance costs. It\u2019s an absolute disgrace. This Republican shutdown hurts our federal workers \u2013 my constituents \u2013 all of whom this Administration has cruelly targeted. This Republican shutdown also hurts the contractors in Maryland and across the country that help provide critical services for Americans. And most of all, it hurts the people they serve: the American people. Just like civil servants, federal contractors working on behalf of their government must be paid,\u201d said Senator Alsobrooks.\n\nThe Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act would:\n\nProvide contract workers, including low-wage service workers, with back pay (and restored paid leave benefits, if used), after a government shutdown,\n\nCover costs associated with back pay for workers in an amount equal to their weekly compensation up to $1,442, (250% of the federal poverty level for a family of four), and\n\nRequire the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to submit a report on federal contractors accessing back pay.\n\nThe legislation is cosponsored by Senators Kaine, Warner, Van Hollen, Alsobrooks, Padilla, Duckworth, Durbin, Baldwin, Warren, Heinrich, Blumenthal, Markey, Sanders, Rosen, Hirono, Klobuchar, Shaheen, Whitehouse, Wyden, Schatz, Gillibrand, Fetterman, Cortez Masto, Gallego, Booker, Schiff, Blunt Rochester, Lujan, King, Kim, Kelly, Merkley and Slotkin.\n\nThe legislation is endorsed by the following organizations: Service Employees International Union (SEIU), AFL-CIO, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), Communication Workers of America (CWA), Iron Workers International, National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Laborers\u2019 International Union of North America (LiUNA), International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), Transportation Trades Department (AFL-CIO), UNITE HERE and American Federation of Teachers (AFT).\n\n\u201cA government shutdown hurts every community. Federally contracted workers may never see backpay when Washington politicians turn their backs on them, including security officers protecting our monuments and janitors keeping courthouses clean,\u201d said SEIU International President April Verrett. \u201cOur leaders need to respect the essential workers who keep this country running in good times and bad. Congress should pass the Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act of 2025 now so every government worker doesn\u2019t have their lives turned upside down during another government shutdown.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe IAM Union represents tens of thousands of federal contract workers who will be furloughed or forced to work without pay in the event of a government shutdown. These men and women work side-by-side with federal workers performing jobs that are absolutely vital to the government and to the people of the United States,\u201d said IAM Union International President Brian Bryant. \u201cWe applaud Senators Smith, Kaine, Warner, Van Hollen, and Alsobrooks for leading the Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act to ensure federal contract workers are compensated for wages lost during a shutdown. The IAM Union is proud to join the fight to ensure these contract workers are made whole should a government shutdown become a reality.\u201d\n\nA copy of the bill text can be found here.", 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.smith.senate.gov/amid-government-shutdown-sen-smith-rep-pressley-introduce-bill-to-provide-back-pay-for-federal-contract-workers-including-low-wage-food-service-and-custodial-staff/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6814489606767893, "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"}