Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum was among the facilities closed during the government shutdown of 1995-1996.

Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum was among the facilities closed during the government shutdown of 1995-1996. Doug Mills/AP file photo

Back Pay for Federal Employees No Guarantee If Government Shuts Down

It would be the first time Congress denied federal workers retroactive pay because of a lapse in appropriations.

Federal employees face the strong possibility that Congress will refuse to grant them back pay if the government shuts down in less than two weeks.

The most conservative faction of the House Republican Party, which last week forced the GOP leadership to delay a vote on legislation to keep the government open past Sept. 30, is different from the group of lawmakers that approved retroactive pay for federal employees after the government shutdown in late 1995 and early 1996, said a former veteran House aide. “We’ve never had a group of people this extreme, who have the kind of power these guys have,” said Scott Lilly, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who focuses on federal budget policy.

Lilly said that because the mid-1990s shutdown was widely perceived as a “huge mistake on the part of House Republicans,” lawmakers were willing to grant back pay to feds as a mea culpa. But the current crop of members trying to use a continuing resolution to keep the government open as a way to defund Obamacare cannot be counted on for pragmatism.

“It’s very hard to predict” what will happen if the government closes and most of the federal workforce is furloughed, said Lilly, who worked on Capitol Hill for decades in several positions, including as chief of staff to former Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., and as staff director of the House Appropriations Committee. “If [Speaker John] Boehner and [House Majority Leader Eric] Cantor can’t predict what they are going to do, I don’t think anyone else can.”

If Congress fails to keep the government open, and subsequently opposes an effort to give furloughed federal workers back pay, then it would be the first time lawmakers refused to reimburse employees for unpaid leave resulting from a lapse in appropriations. Lilly said a short-term government shutdown would be “very problematic” but a long-term closure would be “horrible for our national security and economic stability as a society.”

The House is scheduled this week to vote on some version of a continuing resolution to keep government running, although it’s not clear yet what that will look like, or when it will happen. Politico on Monday reported that the House GOP leadership is contemplating ways to link together before Oct. 1 votes on the debt ceiling, a government funding measure and language delaying implementation of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

The last House votes for this week are scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday, according to the calendar posted on the majority leader’s website. The chamber is supposed to be on recess all next week until Sept. 30, but Lilly said the leadership doesn’t have much choice but to cancel it, although that’s no guarantee they’ll pass a continuing resolution. “The anger would be even greater” if they shut down the government and they weren’t even in Washington, said the former Capitol Hill aide. “That would exacerbate the public reaction to their inability to get their work done, particularly since they’ve been on vacation most of the year.”

Steve Bell, senior director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Economic Policy Project, agreed that the House cannot go on recess if they haven’t figured out how to fund the government past Sept. 30. Bell, who worked for former Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., in the lawmaker’s personal office and as staff director of the Senate Budget Committee in the 1970s and 1980s, said he thinks the Republican and Democratic House leadership ultimately will negotiate to avoid a government shutdown. But, “for the first time this year, I think they are going to cut it pretty close,” Bell said. The last time the government almost shut down -- with about an hour to spare -- was April 2011.

Congress cannot afford to play games with a government shutdown or a potential default, which could hit sometime between Oct. 18 and Nov. 5, Bell said. Waiting until the last minute to resolve these kinds of fiscal issues carries its own risk. “That’s when mistakes happen,” he said.

In the meantime, federal workers are once again in a holding pattern, waiting to see how Capitol Hill’s decisions affect their jobs and pay.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.