From Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11)’s office:
Virginia Delegation Slams White House Threat to Furloughed Workers’ Back Pay
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Democratic members of Virginia’s congressional delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to OMB Director Russ Vought clarifying that threats to withhold or cancel back pay to furloughed federal workers would be illegal. The letter was signed by Representatives James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (VA-08), Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), and Eugene Vindman (VA-07).
“We are writing in response to reports that the White House is considering guidance that would compromise back pay for thousands of federal employees furloughed during the current Republican-driven government shutdown. This proposal is both preposterous and unlawful, as it would misrepresent congressional intent and contradict established legal interpretation,” the members wrote to Vought.
“The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (GEFTA) was enacted with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed by President Trump on January 16, 2019. It was explicitly intended to guarantee that all federal employees furloughed during any lapse in appropriations receive back pay once the government reopens,” the members added. The legislation was carried in the House by Congressman Beyer.
“Any new OMB position that conditions back pay on a specific appropriation is a distortion of congressional intent and a transparent attempt to use federal employees as leverage in a political dispute. These are real people with families who rely on their paychecks to make ends meet and should not be subjected to additional harm for political gain.
We call on OMB to uphold the law as written and intended, ensuring that furloughed employees are entitled to full back pay consistent with GEFTA and prior executive branch guidance,” the members concluded.
Full text of the letter is here and follows:
| Russell Vought
Director Office of Management and Budget Eisenhower Executive Office Building 1650 17th St. NW Washington, DC 20006 |
Director Vought,
We are writing in response to reports that the White House is considering guidance that would compromise back pay for thousands of federal employees furloughed during the current Republican-driven government shutdown. This proposal is both preposterous and unlawful, as it would misrepresent congressional intent and contradict established legal interpretation.
The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (GEFTA) was enacted with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed by President Trump on January 16, 2019. It was explicitly intended to guarantee that all federal employees furloughed during any lapse in appropriations receive back pay once the government reopens. Upon receiving President Trump’s signature, the Trump White House described the law as “requir[ing] the compensation of government employees for wages lost, work performed, or leave used during a lapse in appropriations that begins on or after December 22, 2018.” The plain language of the statute, along with interpretations by the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management and the Council of Economic Advisers issued within the last two months, affirms that back pay is guaranteed at the end of a government shutdown. According to OPM’s guidance for a 2025 shutdown, “after the lapse in appropriations has ended, both excepted and furloughed employees will receive retroactive pay at the employee’s standard rate of pay.”
Reports suggest the White House has now conjured an unconvincingly narrow interpretation of the January 25, 2019 amendment to GEFTA, which provides that furloughed workers shall be compensated “subject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse.” That language was a procedural clarification ensuring furloughed employees were eligible for backpay at the end of a shutdown. In no way does it constitute a limitation on whether backpay may be administered.
Any new OMB position that conditions back pay on a specific appropriation is a distortion of congressional intent and a transparent attempt to use federal employees as leverage in a political dispute. These are real people with families who rely on their paychecks to make ends meet and should not be subjected to additional harm for political gain.
We call on OMB to uphold the law as written and intended, ensuring that furloughed employees are entitled to full back pay consistent with GEFTA and prior executive branch guidance.
The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (GEFTA) was enacted with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed by President Trump on January 16, 2019. It was explicitly intended to guarantee that all federal employees furloughed during any lapse in appropriations receive back pay once the government reopens. Upon receiving President Trump’s signature, the Trump White House described the law as “requir[ing] the compensation of government employees for wages lost, work performed, or leave used during a lapse in appropriations that begins on or after December 22, 2018.” The plain language of the statute, along with interpretations by the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management and the Council of Economic Advisers issued within the last two months, affirms that back pay is guaranteed at the end of a government shutdown. According to OPM’s guidance for a 2025 shutdown, “after the lapse in appropriations has ended, both excepted and furloughed employees will receive retroactive pay at the employee’s standard rate of pay.”
Reports suggest the White House has now conjured an unconvincingly narrow interpretation of the January 25, 2019 amendment to GEFTA, which provides that furloughed workers shall be compensated “subject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse.” That language was a procedural clarification ensuring furloughed employees were eligible for backpay at the end of a shutdown. In no way does it constitute a limitation on whether backpay may be administered.
Any new OMB position that conditions back pay on a specific appropriation is a distortion of congressional intent and a transparent attempt to use federal employees as leverage in a political dispute. These are real people with families who rely on their paychecks to make ends meet and should not be subjected to additional harm for political gain.
We call on OMB to uphold the law as written and intended, ensuring that furloughed employees are entitled to full back pay consistent with GEFTA and prior executive branch guidance.
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Beyer Statement On Federal Employee Back Pay
October 7, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), who represents a Northern Virginia district with one of the largest concentrations of federal employees and contractors in the U.S. House, today responded to reports that the Trump Administration may try to deny back pay to federal employees impacted by the ongoing government shutdown. Beyer was the sponsor of bipartisan House legislation, co-led by Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), mirroring Senate legislation enacted in 2019 that guarantees retroactive pay to federal employees impacted by any lapse in appropriations.
Beyer said:
“Federal employees are guaranteed back pay at the end of any shutdown by law without question or exception.
“This is clearly and unambiguously stated in the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, which Congress passed nearly unanimously in 2019. Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Thune voted for that bill, and President Trump signed it into law. The Trump Administration recently issued guidance that ‘retroactive pay for period of furlough and excepted work will be provided after the laps ends as required by law.’ Speaker Johnson’s own website correctly affirms that, ‘Under federal law, employees are entitled to back pay upon the government reopening.’
“The Trump Administration is trying to frighten federal employees and their families as a negotiating tactic, which is despicable. The President and Republican leaders should instead be using this time and effort to work with Democrats on a deal that reopens the government, protects Americans’ health care, and prevents huge price increases.
“Federal employees should know that these threats are hollow, and they will be paid when this shutdown ends, as the law requires.”
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Congressman Subramanyam Responds to Speaker of the House’s Push to Illegally Withhold Backpay
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) released a statement defending federal workers and their legally guaranteed backpay in response to a White House memo and statement made by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson implying that federal workers will not be receiving backpay. Federal law guarantees backpay to federal workers when the government reopens.
“It’s the law to pay furloughed federal workers their back pay. House Republicans’ own shutdown resources even confirm this,” said Congressman Suhas Subramanyam. “This is just more evidence that the White House and House Republicans wanted this shutdown and are using it as another excuse to punish federal workers and contractors who keep our country safe. Instead, they should be negotiating an end to this shutdown and working with us to stop this healthcare crisis they created.”
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