February 13, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 28 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S1290-S1291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Government Funding

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I appreciate the bipartisan conversation 
that is going on with the chair, and I hope more of that will go on. 
That really is a little bit of why I rise today, because I hope and 
pray that if there--while we have many legitimate policy differences in 
this body, one thing we ought to have absolute, complete agreement on 
is that the United States of America cannot afford another government 
shutdown.
  The last shutdown, which President Trump was so proud to initiate, 
cost our economy--and this is the lowest estimate we could find so we 
don't look like we are overstating--an estimated $6 billion.
  The truth is, that number hardly reflects the human cost of this 
self-inflicted disaster our country was led into. A recent survey found 
that 62 percent of Federal workers depleted most or all of their 
emergency savings, 42 percent of Federal workers took on debt to pay 
bills or other expenses, and 25 percent tapped their retirement 
accounts. If you tap your IRA, you pay tax penalties, and you get none 
of that reimbursed.
  Listen to this: 25 percent of our Federal workers who were the 
victims of this shutdown--25 percent of our Federal workers, during 
this shutdown, had to visit a food bank. If you work for the United 
States of America, the greatest Nation in the world, and you are asked 
to show up to work without pay, you should not have to visit a food 
bank.
  I spent most of my career in the private sector, and I am proud of 
those activities, but I know very few folks who work for any of my 
companies who would have continued to show up day in and day out to do 
their jobs if they were going for 35 days without pay--and 35 days 
without pay where, frankly, you had some Members of the so-called 
board, the Congress, who showed no appreciation at all for their 
suffering and many who said they didn't mind if that shutdown continued 
indefinitely.
  Those fellow Americans are Federal workers, contractors, private 
businesses that support Federal installations or the campground outside 
the Shenandoah National Park or the restaurant outside Petersburg 
National Battlefield--not just Federal employees, folks in the private 
sector as well endured tremendous hardship because the President 
decided to use their livelihoods as a bargaining chip. That can't 
happen again.
  While I want to always try to be optimistic and appreciate the 
bipartisan agreement that has been reached by the budget negotiators, 
unfortunately, we find ourselves in the same spot right now--
potentially just days away from another Trump shutdown.
  The President said he is not happy, but he won't say whether he will 
sign the bipartisan deal that came from the conference committee. Let's 
be clear. The uncertainty itself is having a negative impact on the 
operation of the Federal Government and costing taxpayer dollars each 
and every day that this cloud hangs over the government. Agencies are 
already interrupting investigations and canceling trainings and 
meetings. They are being forced to act as if the government will once 
again be shut down at the end of this week. This is just plain 
mismanagement of government by the Trump administration. It is another 
example of the disrespect this White House has shown to our Federal 
workforce.
  In Virginia, over the past few weeks, Senator Kaine and I have spent 
a lot of time listening to Federal workers. We heard from Federal 
workers who had to pull their kids out of daycare and send them away to 
relatives because they couldn't meet those daycare expenses if they 
weren't getting paid and folks who missed student loan payments or 
literally had to choose between their medications and paying rent. Now, 
these workers have started to receive some of their backpay, and many 
of them have not received all of their backpay from the shutdown.
  The truth is, those Federal workers who drew down their savings or 
incurred a tax penalty from taking money from their IRA or who took an 
advance on their credit card are not made whole by receiving backpay 
because they have incurred penalties that will never be made up, beyond 
the psychic damage that is taking place with their families.
  But even if we accept that most of the Federal workers will 
ultimately get their backpay, that is not the case for thousands of 
Federal contractors in Virginia and around the country. Quite honestly, 
the nightmare is not over.
  The President's decision to finally reopen the government didn't 
magically undo 35 days of missed pay. Unfortunately, no one from the 
White House could be bothered to meet with any of these folks, whether 
it be Federal workers or contractors who were hurt by this government 
shutdown. If they had, they would know how much pain this President's 
shutdown continues to inflict on Federal contractors, particularly low- 
and middle-income workers. I spent the last couple of months, the last 
month and a half listening to these folks describe the anxiety of not 
knowing when their next paycheck will come or if it will come at all.

  Sometimes when we think about Federal contractors, we think about 
high-priced folks, many of whom do a good job working for our 
government, many in my State. Sometimes that is the image of a Federal 
contractor. I wonder if most of the Members of this body realize that 
the people who clean the toilets at the Smithsonian or serve the food 
at the cafeteria in the Smithsonian are Federal contractors, and for 
the 35 days of the government shutdown--they have no recourse at this 
moment in time. They are struggling as we speak, and they will continue 
to struggle if Congress doesn't take advantage of this opportunity--if 
we get this deal signed by Friday and keep the government open--to make 
good on our commitment to those contractors as well. If we end up with 
the alternative and the government shuts down again, these folks' 
lives--at least their economic lives--will be in jeopardy.

[[Page S1291]]

  A number of small businesses--women-owned businesses, minority 
businesses, veteran-owned businesses--that tried, through this last 35-
day shutdown, to keep their workers on payroll had to take that money 
out of their business pockets to try to make ends meet. But after a 
couple of weeks, a lot of them couldn't afford to do that. Those 
businesses have shut down. Years and in certain cases decades of work 
down the drain, not because they did something that was mismanagement, 
not because they did something that was irresponsible, not because they 
weren't providing the taxpayers with the full value of their work, but 
because we here in Congress and the White House couldn't come to a 
common agreement on the most basic responsibility of government, which 
is to keep the doors open and the lights on.
  I held a roundtable recently with a contractor in Springfield, VA. A 
contractor there named Barbara told me she is behind on her rent and 
had to take her granddaughter out of daycare because she can't pay the 
bills. Now, she is glad she is back at work, but that 35 days with no 
pay--unless we rectify that with this deal that may come to pass before 
the weekend, she is still left in the cold. Another at that same 
roundtable told me she had to choose between food and medicine.
  A couple of weeks ago, I met a contractor named John, an Afghanistan 
veteran, who was picking up groceries at the food bank in Arlington 
because the shutdown wiped out his savings. We had some press, but John 
didn't want to go on camera. He was a little bit embarrassed that he 
had to pick up food at the food bank. This is someone who is a veteran. 
This is someone who continued to serve in terms of protecting the 
country. Thirty-five days without pay. With the status quo--he will 
never get those lost earnings back if we don't rectify that this week.
  Another contractor named Joseph, who works as a custodian at the 
Department of the Interior, told me this:

       We work just as hard as anyone else. We need our backpay so 
     we can catch up on our bills and survive.

  The remarkable thing is, for some of these janitors and custodial 
workers, on buildings that were open, they had to continue to work and 
still don't get backpay.
  One of the most heartbreaking things was listening to these 
contractors talk about the shame--the shame of being treated as if 
their work does not have value. The truth is, these folks take pride in 
their work because they love their country. That same contractor, 
Joseph, says he thinks of the building he cleans as the President's 
house, and he works hard because he wants to make it shine every day. 
What a disgrace that this government can't even honor his service with 
back wages so that he can pay his bills and get his personal finances 
in order.
  Many other contractors take pride in their work because it represents 
their independence. Over 45,000 disabled Americans work as Federal 
contractors through the AbilityOne Program. I know this program is very 
successful in Delaware. The Senator from Delaware will speak on it 
shortly.
  I have met contractors who are double amputees, veterans with PTSD, 
and folks with physical and intellectual disabilities. They are able to 
live normal lives and contribute to society because of these Federal 
contractor jobs. For many of them, these jobs are more than about pay. 
It is about respect. It is about being valued and part of a community, 
part of a team at the offices they work in. They suffer more than just 
about anyone when their lifeline--that source of income, independence, 
and dignity--is cut off because of a government shutdown.
  I will close with something a Federal contractor named Constance told 
me last week. Even though she and her team of custodians still face 
tremendous financial hardship, she told me that she remains hopeful. 
She is hopeful because she and her coworkers are now back to work, and 
she is hopeful because people in this Chamber are finally starting to 
listen to folks like her.
  I share her hope that the Senate will have the decency and the basic 
humanity to make sure, one, that we don't close down this government 
come Friday, and two, that when we come to this deal, we take that 
moment--and I see colleagues from both sides of the aisle. We have 
gotten the CBO score. It is scored to make sure the backpay for the 
contractors, with an emphasis toward low-income contractors, under 
$50,000--the cost would be at $1 billion. That is the CBO score. We 
ought to make sure that these people's lives--that the work they do is 
valued.
  I hope, as we have this bipartisan deal to avoid the shutdown, that 
we can also make it right for the folks who oftentimes many of us don't 
see--who clean the buildings, serve the food, many folks from the 
disabled community--who rely upon us to do the right thing.
  Congress should pass this backpay for Federal contractors 
legislation. The President should sign it, and if the President 
doesn't, the Congress should override his veto.
  Let's make sure, as we did with Federal workers, that they will 
always be assured that they will get their backpay. Let's make sure 
that contractors get that same decency. It is time to do the right 
thing.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.