[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 3, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S5]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, this morning in my office Congressman 
Wolf, Congressman Davis, and Congresswoman Morella joined--and we now 
have met several times a day--to try to provide our respective 
leadership here in the Senate and in the House, together with our 
colleagues from Maryland.
  I note the presence of the junior Senator from Maryland on the floor, 
as well as yesterday the senior Senator from Maryland, and Senator Roth 
also.
  We worked here as a group because the greater metropolitan area of 
Washington is probably the most severely affected as a consequence of 
this Government shutdown. Not only is there a large number of 
employees--perhaps as high as a half million--who are working at their 
jobs without pay, but there are some 260,000 to 280,000 who are 
furloughed and not able to report to their offices for various reasons.
  I also wish to mention that at 1 o'clock, and I shall be departing 
shortly to join Members of Congress, Congressman Davis, Congressman 
Frank Wolf, and Congresswoman Connie Morella, and others, to meet with 
the various members of the Federal Employee Education and Assistance 
Fund. This is under the leadership of Jerry Shaw, a nationally known 
individual with Federal employees, currently the counsel for the Senior 
Executive Association.
  We are coming together, the Members of Congress, to encourage 
others--those who can--who will pledge some personal financial support 
for Federal employees receiving short paychecks. This is becoming a 
crisis.
  I commend the Federal Employee Education Assistance Fund for doing 
this. This is a private member of the Combined Federal Campaign 
assisting Federal employees in dire need during the shutdown with 
interest-free loans for rent, mortgage, utilities, and food. The 
charity is in danger of running out of funds without additional 
contributions.
  I am happy to join with others to try to make our contributions to 
help them.
  Attending this 1 o'clock meeting will be representatives from the 
Federal employee organizations represented on the board of directors. 
Among them include the Senior Executive Association, the National 
Treasury Employees Union, the Federal Managers Association, the 
National Federation of Federal Employees, and the Social Security 
Managers Association.

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