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Washington, D.C.—After Congress passed a stop-gap funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the leader of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) renewed her call for lawmakers to pass a full-year DHS appropriations bill as quickly as possible to end the shutdown threat once and for all.

“While the temporary Continuing Resolution avoids shutting down DHS this weekend, it buys Congress just a few days. The exercise in anxiety continues for more than 200,000 dedicated DHS employees who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect given the critically important work they do,” NTEU National President Colleen M. Kelley said.

The day before the midnight deadline, as Congress was debating the issue, some DHS employees were receiving informal furlough notices and others were handed letters informing them they must continue to work with no pay. “This is very disheartening for these dedicated professionals who protect our nation every day,” Kelley said.

She urged Capitol Hill lawmakers to give DHS the resources it needs for the rest of fiscal year 2015 to protect national security and global trade and tourism without disruptions.

“A full-year funding bill will defuse the shutdown threat. That is the right thing to do for our country. DHS employees put their lives on the line for this country; they do not deserve this uncertainty and gamesmanship,” the NTEU leader said.

NTEU, the nation’s largest independent federal-employee union, represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments, including 25,000 employees of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).