The Senate is voting Thursday on legislation sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) that would pay “excepted” employees, or federal workers who have to stay at work in spite of the funding lapse.
The legislation is being considered as the government shutdown goes into its fourth week. Democrats on Wednesday blocked a House-passed bill to reopen the government for the 12th time.
Here’s what you need to know about Johnson’s bill:
Who would be paid under the bill?
Johnson’s bill would pay “excepted” federal employees, which are deemed “essential” amid the shutdown.
These employees are working during the shutdown and are not getting paid, unlike those who are furloughed, who are also missing paychecks but are not required to come to work.
Air traffic controllers are one example of such workers, though there are many others, including Transportation Security Administration workers.
There has been recent alarm among lawmakers in the wake of some of the nation’s busiest airports experiencing scores of delays because of air traffic control staffing shortages.
The “excepted” employees also include 1.3 million members of the military, with the Pentagon saying on its website that “military personnel will continue in a normal duty status, without pay, until such time as a continuing resolution or appropriations are passed by Congress and signed into law.”
“With Democrats continuing the Schumer Shutdown, they should at least agree to pay all the federal employees that are forced to continue working. The 2025 Shutdown Fairness Act is a permanent fix that will ensure excepted workers and our troops are paid during a shutdown,” Johnson said in a statement last week on his bill.
Who does the bill not cover?
The bill would not cover the scores of workers who are furloughed.
During a shutdown, much of the government closes and thousands of federal employees are not required to come to work. These workers, like those deemed essential, are not paid during the shutdown.
When would the excepted workers get paid?
The text of the bill does not outline when workers would get paid, but it does offer back pay for the workers stretching back to Oct. 1, the start of the shutdown.
Workers deemed essential and furloughed federal employees after past funding lapses have always been paid for their work, but the Trump administration has suggested that this shutdown could be handled differently.
The administration also has sought to move forward with layoffs of federal workers during the shutdown.
