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Congress and Trump give free paid vacation to federal workers during shutdown

The swamp wins: President Trump yesterday signed a Democratic Party bill guaranteeing the pay for all furloughed federal employees for the time they are either furloughed from work or working now without pay.

The signing of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, sponsored by Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., requires that all government employees be compensated for “wages lost, work performed, or leave used” during the shutdown, the Whitehouse announced in a news release.

Obviously, it seems just to pay for their time those who have been forced to work without pay. Why those who have not been needed are getting paid however seems very unjust, to the taxpayer. It would seem to me that they should not be paid for work they did not do. More apropos would be to consider removing them from the payroll permanently, as it appears based on this shutdown that most are likely unneeded to begin with.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


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"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

11 comments

  • Cotour

    Trump should not be signing pretty much any bill into law that does not contain $5.7 billion dollars in border wall / fencing / security funds.

    Every effort to soften the urgency of this situation is a detriment to the president IMO. Drag Pelosi in a political headlock to the mat! (Just don’t muss her hair and do it politely) That is the only acceptable way for this to end.

  • Kirk

    Have there been any statements indicating that the president signed this reluctantly, that he supported it wholeheartedly, or something in between?

    While the bill was sponsored by a Democratic senator, it was passed by voice vote without objection in the Senate and by a 411 to 7 margin in the House.

  • wodun

    Doesn’t this happen with every shutdown?

  • Cotour

    The only president that would dare such an in your face strategy. MAGA

    Dear Madame Speaker,

    Due to the Shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt and Afghanistan has been postponed. We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the Shutdown is over, In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate. I also feel that, during this period, it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me and joining the Strong Border Security movement to end the Shutdown. Obviously, if you would like to make your journey by flying commercial, that would certainly be your prerogative.

    I look forward to seeing you soon and even more forward to watching our open and dangerous Southern Border finally receive the attention, funding, and security it so desperately deserves!

    Sincerely,

    Donald J. Trump

  • wayne

    Kirk–
    The Usual Suspects include, Mitch (the turtle) McConnell. He never met an Obama-program, he didn’t completely fund. We’ll get nothing of significance done, unless and until he’s room-temperature.

    Tangentially–Nancy Pelosi has a long & extensive history of requesting military transport from DC to California, and she doesn’t travel cargo.
    Her Hotel & Vineyard and all non-union, and her husband is up to his neck in chi-com “deals.”

  • Kirk

    wayne, I assume you are referring to the domestic military transport offered to the Speaker of the House (2nd in the presidential line of succession) by the DoD with the consent of the White House following the September 2001 attacks. I understand that both Speakers Hastert & Pelosi accepted the transport, but that Pelosi came under criticism since her flights to California were more costly than Hastert’s flights to Illinois. On the heels of that criticism, Speakers Boehner & Ryan declined domestic military transport.

    I tried a quick search but was unable find if Speaker Pelosi has indicated if she will once again accept that transport.

  • wayne

    Kirk–
    That may very well be– keeping track of these criminal’s is a FT job that I can’t keep up with in my old age.
    Dig deeper on Pelosi– she had a habit of regularly taking high-end government aircraft between DC & California.
    (She thinks she’s the Queen.)

    Referencing the current situation– if she needs to fly anywhere, she can fund the appropriate Cost-center.

    Mark Levin:
    “Let’s look into Nancy Pelosi’s finances…”
    (January 10 2019)
    https://youtu.be/26BCLWafscE
    10:58

  • Cotour

    Pelosi does not see herself as a queen, she said it herself when she was made speaker again. She sees herself as equal to the president. Which obviously she is not, but it sounds good.

    The evidence? If she was equal to the president as the speaker of the house she would be on her 7 day junket with her other Democrats.

    The evidence is what it is, not that Democrats deal well with evidence and reality.

  • wayne

    not to go completely off-thread….

    Neil Young & Crazy Horse:
    God Save The Queen
    https://youtu.be/y-nPsrX05Rk?t=89

  • Cotour

    Question to Speaker Pelosi in her next news conference: Speaker Pelosi, do you still see yourself as being equal to the president?

    I suspect the question will not be heard nor answered.

    Long term, Trump prevails here and in the future, this wall / fence / shut down issue and confrontation is for all the marbles.

  • Max

    I would not be surprised if this next check is labeled “severance pay”

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