Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) have introduced a bill to protect federal employees' credit in the event of a government shutdown.
The Federal Worker Credit Protection Act prohibits consumer reporting agencies from reporting adverse information in the credit reports of federal workers during shutdowns and for an additional 30 days after pay is reinstated.
Additionally, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be required to tell those consumer reporting agencies when federal agencies are shut down, and federal workers would be allowed to correct adverse information on their existing credit reports.
When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shut down for 76 days – the longest shutdown in American history – thousands of federal employees missed paychecks, which would adversely affect their credit, putting them under financial strain they could not control.
"In the past six months, Republicans have forced two of the longest government shutdowns in history," Sen. Gallego claimed in a press release. "At a time when Americans are already struggling with rising costs, federal workers shouldn't have to worry about their credit taking a hit because they're not getting paid."
"This bill protects hardworking public service workers from long-term financial damage during shutdowns they didn't cause," Sen. Gallego concluded.
Sen. Kelly added that "federal workers shouldn't be punished by a government shutdown that isn't their fault."
Sen. Kelly further described,"Earlier this month, I met with Phoenix TSA officers working without pay. They shared how the financial strain they were dealing with—including missed payments—hurt their credit scores. That kind of damage can follow you for years."
Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) previously commented that the shutdown was avoidable, saying, "The hard working people who work for those agencies could have gotten paid a month ago."
