Press Releases

Today, Congresswomen Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Debbie Dingell (MI-06) introduced the Pay Federal Workers and Servicemembers Act to allow states to make unemployment benefits available to unpaid federal workers and servicemembers who, despite a government shutdown, are required to show up to work without receiving a paycheck.  

The government runs out of funding on March 14, 2025. Currently, federal workers, which include over a million servicemembers, who are deemed essential and continue to report to work are prohibited from collecting unemployment benefits. The Pay Federal Workers and Servicemembers Act permanently allows unpaid federal workers to become eligible for unemployment benefits, bringing them into parity with furloughed workers.

"During a government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal employees are required to work without a paycheck. This includes service members, law enforcement, and public safety officers. Bills still need to be paid and groceries still need to be put on the table no matter how long a shutdown lasts. These essential public servants shouldn’t pay the price for Congress’ inability to do its job. This legislation will make sure that federal workers and service members aren’t used as political pawns,” said DelBene.

“Public servants and servicemembers are working tirelessly to keep us safe, and they shouldn’t be treated as political pawns,” said Dingell. “For many of these essential federal workers, even one missed paycheck can be financially catastrophic. Food, gas, childcare, healthcare, and mortgage payments don’t stop when the government is shut down, and asking our federal workforce to bear the brunt of these costs while they aren’t getting paychecks is simply not right. In the event the government shuts down, we must extend unemployment benefits to the hard-working men and women who keep our lives running smoothly and our country safe.”  

The Pay Federal Workers and Servicemembers Act is cosponsored by Representatives Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), and Terri Sewell (AL-07).  

Text of the bill may be found here.