Moran: It's 'Reprehensible' Federal Employees Are Affected by Dysfunctional Congress

U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., released the following open letter to federal employees on Thursday:

To the Dedicated and Hardworking Employees of the United States Government:

Today, as the government re-opens I want to take the time to thank the 2.1 million civilian workers and 1.4 million active duty members of the military who either continued to come to work without the guarantee of a paycheck or lived through the uncertainty of furloughs. Government employees have already shouldered a great deal of the burden of past deficit reduction measures and it is reprehensible that they were in any way affected by Congress’ inability to pass a budget.

This region bore a disproportionate brunt of the government shutdown. Over the past 16 days of uncertainty, my thoughts and efforts focused on restoring all suspended government operations and mitigating some of the financial impacts caused by the suspension of paychecks to federal employees and procurement payments to government contractors.  I am pleased the continuing resolution allowing the federal government to resume all operations included the bill Rep. Frank Wolf and I authored (H.R. 3223), which passed the House unanimously, ensuring all federal employees receive pay for the period of the government shutdown, regardless of furlough status.

Most federal workers choose public service for love of country and the opportunity to make peoples’ lives better.  It is unfortunate they were held hostage in the broader debate over the size and scope of the federal government.  It is my sincere wish that the recent actions in Congress not discourage you from continuing to serve the American people, nor discourage the next generation from accepting the call.   

Despite the actions by some of my colleagues in Congress, please know that a majority value your service as do the vast majority of the American people.

Sincerely,

James P. Moran