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Washington, D.C.—After House approval of a Senate-passed full-year funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the leader of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) congratulated Congress for ending the funding standoff that threatened to shut down the department at the end of this week.

“I am relieved that Congress, at long last, has settled this matter and that employees no longer have a shutdown threat hanging over their heads,” said NTEU National President Colleen M. Kelley.

The shutdown debate was disheartening for the DHS workforce, including 25,000 NTEU-represented Customs and Border Protection (CBP) workers.

The shutdown threat was lifted by the House passing a full-year DHS funding bill previously passed by the Senate, which the president has said he would sign. Enactment of the bill will allow the agency to continue to play a critical role in providing national security and ensuring the smooth flow of tourism and trade.

“Passage of the appropriations bill ends weeks of anxiety for DHS employees, who can now focus on performing their vitally important work. NTEU worked tirelessly to prevent a shutdown and I am pleased that we persuaded Congress to do the right thing,” President Kelley said.

If the shutdown had occurred, 200,000 DHS employees would have had to work without pay and 30,000 others would have been furloughed, also without pay.

“The men and women who contribute so much to our country should never be made to feel anxious about their jobs, especially when many of them live paycheck to paycheck,” the NTEU leader said. “Congress should never again repeat this near-shutdown experience. They should treat employees of DHS and every other federal agency with respect and dignity.”

NTEU, the nation’s largest independent federal-employee union, represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.