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Washington, D.C.—The head of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) today offered strong support for two bills introduced, respectively, in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate providing for retroactive pay for federal workers furloughed because of the government shutdown.

In separate letters to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Reps. James Moran (D-Va.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.), NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley emphasized that through no fault of their own, dedicated federal employees “are being held hostage—unsure when they might be able to return to their federal offices, unsure whether or not they will be able to make their next rent or mortgage payments, and frustrated and scared about their future.”

President Kelley thanked Sen. Cardin and Reps. Moran and Wolf, and all the other original cosponsors of the bills, for their leadership and quick action in moving forward with these measures.

Retroactive pay for shutdown-related furlough days requires congressional action; such a step was taken in the last government-wide shutdown in 1995 and 1996, and NTEU is leading the fight to ensure that payments are made to furloughed federal workers caught up in the current political standoff. The Senate bill is S. 1567; the House measure is H.R. 3223.

The shutdown entered its second day today, with some 800,000 federal workers—including many represented by NTEU—forced off their jobs.

Separately, President Kelley noted that these dedicated public servants, like many Americans, live paycheck-to-paycheck and face the same kinds of financial obligations and pressures.

She noted, as well, that many federal employees have in recent months undergone unpaid furlough days as a result of sequestration—and that all of them have been under a three-year pay freeze.

“NTEU is continuing its efforts not only to bring the current shutdown to a prompt end, but to secure the end of the damaging policy of sequestration and ensure that federal agencies have sufficient funding moving forward,” Kelley said.

NTEU is the nation’s largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.