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This afternoon, the House passed a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open and funded through Dec. 20. The Senate is expected to follow suit on Thursday, when a current stopgap spending bill expires.
“We recognize how anxious this makes our members, who should not be in this position again,” National President Tony Reardon said. “Federal employees, like everyone else, would like to enjoy time with family and friends and continue working without any disruption. The thought that a government shutdown could cause personal hardship and professional chaos a second year in a row is upsetting."
As NTEU expected, the House-passed legislation includes a 3.1 percent pay raise for the military in 2020. NTEU believes civilian federal employees should receive the same. We are continuing to fight for military-civilian pay parity in the final spending bill, and for locality pay to help reduce the pay gap between the civil service and the private sector.
Congressional leaders plan to use this additional CR time to complete work on the 12 appropriations bills that fund the federal government, none of which have been passed into law. The House has passed 10 of its appropriations bills, while the Senate has passed only four. Delays are tied to disagreements over border security funding and the ability of the administration to redirect funding from other agencies for that purpose.
White House officials indicated the president will sign the CR currently moving through Congress, although he hasn't given a firm commitment.