WASHINGTON — The country’s largest union representing federal workers is calling for lawmakers to pass a short-term spending measure to end the government shutdown immediately, urging Democrats to abandon their current position and join Republicans in supporting a stopgap solution.
“Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight,” American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley wrote in a statement first shared with NBC News. “It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship.”
The statement could increase pressure on Democrats to budge from their current stance. Senate Democrats have insisted that they won’t vote to reopen the government without a commitment from Republicans and President Donald Trump on extending health care subsidies through the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Without them, health insurance premiums on Obamacare markets will skyrocket for many individuals and families.
“It’s time for our leaders to start focusing on how to solve problems for the American people, rather than on who is going to get the blame for a shutdown that Americans dislike,” Kelley said, stressing there should be a “resolution that allows continued debate on larger issues” like growing costs and a dysfunctional federal funding process in Congress.
“Because when the folks who serve this country are standing in line for food banks after missing a second paycheck because of this shutdown, they aren’t looking for partisan spin,” he added. “They’re looking for the wages they earned. The fact that they’re being cheated out of it is a national disgrace.”
AFGE represents 820,000 federal and D.C. government workers across almost every agency. The group is suing the Trump administration on several fronts connected to the shutdown: first over the mass layoffs organized by Trump budget chief Russell Vought and second over partisan out-of-office email messages blaming Democrats for the shutdown that were set by the Education Department, without employees’ permission or foreknowledge.
The union believes the government should reopen now and workers should receive their back pay, both those who have had to work without pay and those who have been furloughed for the last 26 days.
“None of these steps favor one political side over another. They favor the American people — who expect stability from their government and responsibility from their leaders,” Kelley said.
The House-passed continuing resolution, which has failed 12 times in the Senate so far, would expire on Nov. 21. The group says it would support either that resolution or one that would fund the government for a longer period.
Three senators who caucus with Democrats have voted with Republicans to pass the bill: John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Angus King, I-Maine.
Five more would be needed to reach the 60-vote threshold required.
There are no signs of negotiations between the two parties to end the stalemate, which will hit the one-month mark this week. Trump has said he’s willing to meet with Democrats only once they’ve voted to reopen the government.
“These are patriotic Americans — parents, caregivers, and veterans — forced to work without pay while struggling to cover rent, groceries, gas and medicine because of political disagreements in Washington,” Kelley wrote. “That is unacceptable.”