Legislation designed to preserve the credit scores of government employees and contractors in the event of a government shutdown was introduced in the Senate Nov. 20, adding weight behind efforts started in the House to ensure that a lack of pay during a shutdown would not impact federal financial health.
The Senate version’s introduction comes just as the government is set to be funded by another short-term continuing resolution, rather than full fiscal year budgets that would ensure no further government shutdown for at least that year.
“After each shutdown, I hope that Congress and the President will finally learn their lesson. But this week, we are only kicking the can down the road a month, and we still face the threat of a government shutdown before the end of the year,” said bill sponsor Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in a news release.
“This bill is just common sense. If we face another Trump Shutdown, we must do everything we can to protect consumers, federal workers, contractors and small businesses. Issuing this guidance promptly is a small way to do that, and I urge the Senate to consider this legislation without delay.”
The House version of the same bill was passed favorably out of committee in mid-September, despite some concerns that the database of federal employees created by the legislation would endanger the personal data of federal employees who have already been the victims of several information breaches.
But proponents noted that such information is already available for those bad actors that are really interested in finding it.
“Government shutdowns are not federal employees’ fault, so it stands to reason that their personal creditworthiness not be harmed in the process,” National Treasury Employees Union National President Tony Reardon said in a statement.
“We applaud Sen. Van Hollen and others for introducing this important legislation and, on the eve of another potential shutdown, we encourage Congress to act quickly to pass it into law.”
