Courtney Statement on Impending Partial Government Shutdown

Washington, DC – Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) issued the following statement on the ongoing debate over the looming partial government shutdown:

"Shutting down nearly a quarter of our government is a costly, destructive and pointless exercise. After months of conflicting statements, the President's last-minute gamble to leverage a shutdown to extract demands for his border wall will only create chaos and uncertainty in agencies across our government. Unfortunately, eastern Connecticut will feel the impact of a shutdown first hand. Among many examples, the United States Coast Guard is going to be the one military service that takes the hardest hit as many will continue to serve and protect our nation even as they will not receive pay.

"Speaker Ryan can end this farce today. He should allow the House to take up the clean funding compromise that passed the Senate unanimously and put this avoidable and unnecessary episode to an immediate end. Debate about any other separate issues, like the construction of a border wall, will have plenty of time to be considered in the new year under regular order."

According to the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB), about 1,500 federal employees working for the agencies facing a shutdown tonight work or reside in Connecticut as of June 2018. It is not known at this time how many would be deemed "essential" or be furloughed during a shutdown. (source: https://www.fedscope.opm.gov/)

• Department of Agriculture – 138
• Department of Commerce – 129
• Department of Justice – 265
• Department of Homeland Security – 421 (of which 321 are connected to the Coast Guard)
• Department of Housing and Urban Development – 45
• Department of the Interior – 65
• Department of State – 29
• Department of Transportation – 177
• Department of the Treasury – 153
• National Credit Union Administration – 13
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – 20
• General Services Administration – 16
• Small Business Administration – 12

Under the law, federal employees subject to furlough during a shutdown would need Congress to approve back pay. Courtney is an original cosponsor of legislation, H.R. 7368, introduced yesterday by Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) to provide for the retroactive compensation of Federal employees furloughed during a Government shutdown.

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