On behalf of the AFL-CIO, I am writing to express our support for the conference report to accompany H. J. Res. 31, which is scheduled for floor consideration today. While we don’t agree with every decision made by the conferees, Congress must not permit another partial shutdown of the federal government to occur.
It was just a few weeks ago that more than 800,000 federal employees and federal contractors returned to work after an unprecedented shutdown lasting 35 days. While Congress has rightly provided back pay for the federal employees who were unpaid during the shutdown, the conference report fails to provide back pay for the federal contract employees who also suffered financial hardship during the shutdown. After passing this conference report, we urge Congress to come back to the table and make these federal contract employees whole.
The AFL-CIO calls on Congress to pass the conference report to accompany H. J. Res. 31 and continue working in the interests of working families.
Sincerely,
William Samuel, Director
Government Affairs Department