[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 179 (Monday, November 13, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H12157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1830
                NOTIFY FEDERAL EMPLOYEES OF THEIR STATUS

  (Mr. MORAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, there are nearly a million people around the 
country who do not know tonight whether they should come in to work 
tomorrow who have been deemed nonessential, whatever that means. We owe 
it to them, if we cannot take appropriate action tonight, to enable 
them to go to work tomorrow to at least let them know.
  It is the height of absurdity to bring 800,000 people to work 
tomorrow and then to have to tell them because the Congress did not 
take action the night before, that they have to turn around and go 
home. We ourselves do not even know whether our own employees should be 
coming to work tomorrow.
  Mr. Speaker, I would strongly urge the majority, the leadership of 
this body, to at least let those million Federal employees and the many 
millions who are dependent upon Federal activities throughout this 
country to know what the state of affairs is tomorrow, and we, as well, 
need to have some appropriate policy with regard to our own employees.
  It is unfair to have them come in to work tomorrow and then tell them 
we have decided they are not essential and that they will no longer be 
paid.

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