Dozens of federal unions say they are prepared to back a government shutdown despite a funding lapse risking severe consequences — including job loss — for their members.
The Federal Unionists Network (FUN) and 35 national, state and local unions sent a letter to top Democratic leaders on Monday urging party leaders to hold the line against a clean GOP spending bill less than 48 hours before the government is set to partially shut down. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has thus far expressed willingness to plunge the country into a government shutdown if the GOP does not agree to his demands — despite the prospect of a new round of firings and federal workers forgoing pay for an indefinite period.
“A government shutdown is never Plan A,” the letter from the FUN and 35 cosponsoring unions reads. “Federal workers and the communities we serve will face severe hardship. But federal workers will willingly forego paychecks in the hopes of preserving the programs we have devoted our lives to administering.”
“In order to save our services today, we need to send a message to this Administration that enough is enough,” the letter continues.
The government will partially shut down Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. if lawmakers do not pass a stopgap measure to temporarily fund government operations until both parties can strike a longer-term spending deal.
Senate Democrats chose to filibuster a House-passed seven-week stopgap bill offered by Republicans on Sept. 19 despite the measure largely continuing Biden-era funding levels.
Though Republicans wield a 53-47 majority in the Senate, most legislation, including government funding bills, need 60 votes to pass the upper chamber.
The White House budget office has floated mass layoffs of federal workers during a potential shutdown, raising the stakes for Democrats to agree to a funding deal.
Schumer notably justified working with Republicans to fund the government in March by arguing that a government shutdown would have far-reaching consequences for federal employees.
Top Democrats, however, largely dismissed the prospect of potential firings as an empty threat despite the Trump administration’s extensive efforts to cull the federal workforce since January.
The coalition of federal unions is urging Schumer to continue opposing the GOP spending bill, citing in part the legislation’s failure to undo cuts to foreign aid spending and forcing Trump to spend all funds appropriated by Congress.
The groups’ support for Schumer’s hardball tactics comes as a diverse coalition of law enforcement, agriculture and small business advocacy groups are urging Democrats to get behind the GOP stopgap plan and avert a government shutdown.
“They [small business owners] need certainty and confidence that elected officials and government leaders are delivering on stability, not disruptive action that could potentially undermine growth and planning,” the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council said in a statement obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Top Democratic leaders are also demanding that Republicans agree to extend Biden-era Obamacare subsidies in exchange for their support. A permanent extension would cost federal taxpayers $350 billion over the next decade, according to a recent estimate by the Congressional Budget Office.
Republicans have countered that Congress should tackle government funding before considering the tax credits, which are not slated to expire until Dec. 31.
“Major decisions should not be made in haste,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post on Monday. “And they certainly shouldn’t be made because one party is threatening to shut down the government if it doesn’t get its way.”
A spokesperson for the FUN did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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