Photo Courtesy of Sen. Schumer’s Office
According to Sen. Schumer, the Federal Employee Civil Relief Act would safeguard workers impacted by a shutdown from: being evicted or foreclosed; having their car or other property repossessed; falling behind in student loan payments; falling behind in paying bills; or losing their insurance because of missed premiums.
By Forum Staff
As the partial government shutdown reached the month milestone on Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) presented new legislation that he said would establish a plan to protect 800,000 federal workers and their families impacted by the shutdown from further financial hardship.
Introduced by U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and cosponsored by 25 senators, including Schumer, the Federal Employee Civil Relief Act would prohibit landlords and creditors from taking action against federal workers or contractors who are hurt by the government shutdown and unable to pay rent or repay loans. The bill would also empower federal workers to sue creditors or landlords that violate this protection, Schumer noted.
The measure, modeled after the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act of 2003, would safeguard workers impacted by a shutdown from: being evicted or foreclosed; having their car or other property repossessed; falling behind in student loan payments; falling behind in paying bills; or losing their insurance because of missed premiums.
Schumer reported that his state offices have been inundated by calls and emails from the thousands of people negatively impacted by the shutdown. They have shared the measures they are taking so they can continue working without pay, paying their mortgage, or even putting food on the table. According to New York’s senior senator, many U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who work at John F. Kennedy International Airport cannot afford to commute to work, so they have stopped going to work or they have even resorted to staying at work to avoid any commute at all. Schumer said other federal workers have told him they are concerned about losing their car insurance, not being able to pay their mortgage or rent, and not being able to pay for other bills such as electric to keep the lights on.
“Across New York City and Long Island thousands of people and their families continue to suffer through a needless government shutdown that has absolutely nothing to do with the federal agencies they so diligently serve. Their bills are piling up and their worry for how they will pay their rent, mortgage, car payment, student loan, as well as other bills just keeps growing with each passing day,” Schumer added. “That is why, amidst another push to open the government, I am fighting with my colleagues for necessary financial protections for impacted federal workers during this shutdown and for workers of any future shutdown, because no federal public servant should have their financial well-being held hostage by a President unwilling to simply open the government in the middle of a debate.”
