The government shutdown is abusing federal workers, and we all will pay the price

When our federal government partially or completely shuts down due to lack of funding, Americans everywhere feel a pinch. But the pain suffered by the families of federal employees is chronic.

As President Trump complained about being all alone in his publicly funded housing, federal workers deemed “essential” were driving back from their holiday vacations early to report to work. As President Trump chooses to be petulant instead of presidential, federal workers are running up their credit card balances to pay for food and gas, and causing their credit scores to plunge as their bills go unpaid.

We should raise the veil on this workforce with an almost permanent target on their back. Public servants in our federal government are accountable to the rules and carefully follow the strict guidelines required of them. Beyond their civil service, they know how to follow orders because one-third of federal employees also have served honorably in our military. We have veterans working in every agency, not just in positions with the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs. As of FY 2016, the last year in which we have data, that includes nearly 30,000 veterans at the Department of Justice, one-quarter of its entire workforce, and about 20,000 veterans at the Department of Transportation, or about 37 percent of its entire workforce.

President Trump falsely boasted that he raised military pay by 10 percent, yet he brags about freezing the pay of 635,000 American veterans who work for our federal government as prison guards, FBI agents, and air traffic controllers.

We also have nearly 24,000 civil servants working overseas, away from home, in positions for the federal government. This figure doesn’t include numerous federal workers operating in dangerous regions in clandestine roles, many of whom may also be veterans.

By freezing their pay and denying them a paycheck, President Trump repeatedly turns his back on Americans around the world who left home to work honorably on behalf of their country.

To add insult to injury, the new GOP tax law treats moving expenses of federal workers serving overseas as taxable income. As these workers come home once their overseas mission is completed, this change to tax treatment could add thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to their tax obligation.

So deny pay, freeze pay, and tax more. It is a recipe for disaster, and it’s hurting our country’s ability to be fiscally responsible and forward-thinking.

Since 2016, the average tenure of federal government employees has dipped downward. Based on my conversations with retired and active federal employees in my district, that’s no surprise. The president’s continued targeting of public servants will cost us in recruitment and retention over time. The institutional knowledge lost by every employee who leaves is incalculable. The cost of this government shutdown and pay freeze will linger for generations.

Because of this manufactured crisis, 800,000 Americans are unable to collect a paycheck, and 600,000 of them hold jobs that have absolutely nothing to do with border security. They are being held hostage by this President over a difference of opinion on a particular policy. No matter what your opinion is on constructing a wall at the border, you can agree it’s foolish to close the federal government over a policy disagreement.

Americans want and deserve border security, and I’m committed to smart, 21^st Century investments to do that. But refusing to pay our hard-working federal workers is an expensive mistake that no President can afford.