Key GOP senator offers proposal to pay essential and furloughed workers during shutdown

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they pay then the government can be closed for years

+1

Then they can take their sweet time reshaping the govt and RIFing people while on furlough.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5575688-ron-johnson-gop-pay-federal-workers-shutdown/

Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.), the lead Senate Republican negotiator on a bill to pay key federal workers during the shutdown, says he has offered Democrats a proposal to pay all federal workers — essential and furloughed federal employees — while federal departments and agencies are shuttered.

Johnson told The Hill that he believes Senate GOP leadership supports his offer, but he says the proposal will be discussed in more detail at the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon Tuesday.

“Are they going to take ‘yes’ for an answer?” Johnson said of whether his Democratic colleagues would accept the latest offer.

“We’re willing to add furloughed workers,” he said, calling it a “big” concession.

“Pay them up front. They’re going to get paid anyway,” Johnson said, noting that under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, furloughed federal workers are guaranteed back pay for the time they miss on the job during a shutdown.

That bill was on the floor last week and guess who blocked it? Johnson.

NO, previous bill did not include furlough workers.

I mean, yes, previous Dem's bill (including furlough workers) was blocked too. But this bill includes furlough workers as requested by Dem, but excludes other items (such as no RIF, federal contractors, etc) requested by Dem.

Johnson blocked two dem bills to pay fed workers. The second from Sen Peters didn’t include the stuff about RIFs. Johnson is full of it.

Ok, I was not aware of that. Maybe that was before compromise, now it is ready to compromise, in order to pass something to pay people. They have to find a way to pay people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they pay then the government can be closed for years

This is fine, it’s not like they were letting us do our work in peace. I’d rather leave everything in status and return when sanity prevails somehow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they pay then the government can be closed for years

Not really. DoD would fall apart without contractors. Many are funded for now, but that funding will eventually run out.

[Anonymous]

If you are going going to pay us while we aren’t working, can I just go back to work, please? This is stupid. I was fine being home for about a week. Now, I’m well over it and I would like to be working, please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are going going to pay us while we aren’t working, can I just go back to work, please? This is stupid. I was fine being home for about a week. Now, I’m well over it and I would like to be working, please.

Girl hush your mouth and re-organize your pantry again or something. Did none of you actually have to work with politicals in this environment? We are working for idiots. Enjoy the break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are going going to pay us while we aren’t working, can I just go back to work, please? This is stupid. I was fine being home for about a week. Now, I’m well over it and I would like to be working, please.

Not sure how to feel about this because I assume if they pay us they'll want us back to work anyway, but only funding salaries is going to cause some major roadblocks to much of the work, if contracting and purchasing are still shut down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they pay then the government can be closed for years

+1

Then they can take their sweet time reshaping the govt and RIFing people while on furlough.

I’m actually ok with that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are going going to pay us while we aren’t working, can I just go back to work, please? This is stupid. I was fine being home for about a week. Now, I’m well over it and I would like to be working, please.

Not sure how to feel about this because I assume if they pay us they'll want us back to work anyway, but only funding salaries is going to cause some major roadblocks to much of the work, if contracting and purchasing are still shut down.

This proposal is more about how to solve the issue of employees paying their bill (mortgage, rent, grocery, credit cards, etc), it is not really about how to keep government running.

[Anonymous]

With what money? They have to appropriate it. And once it’s appropriated most agencies reopen. So not sure how this is any different from any other bill to reopen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With what money? They have to appropriate it. And once it’s appropriated most agencies reopen. So not sure how this is any different from any other bill to reopen.

Of course there is big difference. Federal employee salaries only accounts for approximately 4% to 5% of the total federal budget, let us say, someone works in SNAP program, but there is no SNAP funding, even if government reopens, there is no money to distribute, there is no work to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are going going to pay us while we aren’t working, can I just go back to work, please? This is stupid. I was fine being home for about a week. Now, I’m well over it and I would like to be working, please.

Not sure how to feel about this because I assume if they pay us they'll want us back to work anyway, but only funding salaries is going to cause some major roadblocks to much of the work, if contracting and purchasing are still shut down.

This proposal is more about how to solve the issue of employees paying their bill (mortgage, rent, grocery, credit cards, etc), it is not really about how to keep government running.

Ok, but I'm asking what actually happens next if it passes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With what money? They have to appropriate it. And once it’s appropriated most agencies reopen. So not sure how this is any different from any other bill to reopen.

Presumably they would just appropriate the salary money.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are going going to pay us while we aren’t working, can I just go back to work, please? This is stupid. I was fine being home for about a week. Now, I’m well over it and I would like to be working, please.

Not sure how to feel about this because I assume if they pay us they'll want us back to work anyway, but only funding salaries is going to cause some major roadblocks to much of the work, if contracting and purchasing are still shut down.

This proposal is more about how to solve the issue of employees paying their bill (mortgage, rent, grocery, credit cards, etc), it is not really about how to keep government running.

Ok, but I'm asking what actually happens next if it passes

i

They’d pay people. The bill would be written to pay salaries only, but would. It authorize any funding: essentially, it’d be a paid furlough while they figure out what they want to keep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are going going to pay us while we aren’t working, can I just go back to work, please? This is stupid. I was fine being home for about a week. Now, I’m well over it and I would like to be working, please.

Not sure how to feel about this because I assume if they pay us they'll want us back to work anyway, but only funding salaries is going to cause some major roadblocks to much of the work, if contracting and purchasing are still shut down.

This proposal is more about how to solve the issue of employees paying their bill (mortgage, rent, grocery, credit cards, etc), it is not really about how to keep government running.

Ok, but I'm asking what actually happens next if it passes

Some agencies could call back furlough workers, if employee salary is majority of agency funding, agency should be able to run with salary funding. But there is still a small issue -- is there funding for transportation subsidy?