[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 43 (Thursday, March 6, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S1600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, since he took office, President Trump, his 
unelected billionaire buddy Elon Musk, and their DOGE bros have begun 
to systematically dismantle the Federal Government. In their efforts to 
root out so-called ``government waste,'' President Trump and Elon are 
targeting and illegally terminating the Federal workforce, the 
employees who make our country run.
  These are the air traffic controllers who make sure your flights land 
safely, the workers responsible for sending Social Security checks out 
the door for millions of older Americans, the national security experts 
who keep our Nation safe from threats. These people are not loyal to 
any party or President. They are career civil servants devoted to 
serving Americans and answering to the Constitution. And they are being 
abruptly and illegally fired from critical positions across the 
government.
  Today, I will share the stories of four Federal employees with ties 
to Illinois who have been terminated in the President's DOGE rampage.
  One of my constituents has devoted his career to transit safety. He 
dreamed of working for the Federal Government. After working for a 
decade to make the Illinois transit system safer, he landed a job with 
the Federal Transit Administration in safety assurance, where he was 
hired to start a program that looked into transit safety hazards across 
the Nation.
  But after President Trump took office, he started to receive strange 
emails about his job. He was still on probation, but his performance 
was excellent, and even his managers did not know who was sending the 
emails. That was until February 14, when he was emailed that he had 
been terminated for poor performance, despite there being zero 
documentation suggesting lackluster work and glowing appraisals from 
his managers.
  He was given no severance or benefits. He was gutted. He had never 
been fired from a job before, and he loved his work. And more 
importantly, he worries about how he will take care of his two 
children--both of whom have autism.
  We need Federal employees to ensure our public transportation systems 
are safe. But now, his job investigating transport hazards sits vacant. 
Public transport is less safe as a result.
  How will firing transportation safety experts make America greater?
  If you live in Chicago, you will remember last July's derecho, when a 
record-breaking 32 tornadoes ripped through the Chicagoland area. Eric 
Carothers remembers it well. At the time, he was an intern for the 
National Weather Service in Chicago under their Pathways student 
program, which allowed him to gain experience at the National Weather 
Service while he was earning his graduate degree in meteorology.
  Eric has long been passionate about public service and meteorology. A 
career at the National Weather Service was a dream come true for him, 
and he expected to join its staff full-time after graduating from 
school this spring. That is until he was terminated last week--without 
cause.
  Americans rely on the National Weather Service for everything from 
knowing when to pack an umbrella to avoid being caught in a 
thunderstorm to staying safe during tornado clusters. Eric explained 
that meteorologists at the National Weather Service are already 
understaffed and overworked. He fears for what the terminations of 
younger staff will mean for expertise when more senior forecasters 
retire. Without passionate, dedicated, trained meteorologists, 
Americans' lives and property are at risk.
  How will firing workers in charge of warning the public of weather 
emergencies make America greater?
  Few of the President's actions have been as repulsive as putting 
veterans in the crosshairs of so-called ``government waste.'' I want to 
share the story of one employee, a woman who worked at the Marion VA 
Medical Center in southern Illinois. Every year, this facility serves 
43,000 veterans.
  Like many VA employees, she received an email in the middle of the 
night informing her that she was fired from her logistical job that 
ensured the rural hospital's lab had what it needed for patient care. 
Her supervisor had no idea this was coming. Her coworkers were shocked. 
Her role was valuable to the lab, and she did good work. According to 
the cookie-cutter email, she, too, was being fired for ``poor 
performance.'' But how could that be true when she had just received an 
outstanding performance evaluation? It made no sense. And get this: She 
is a veteran. And her spouse is Active-Duty Army.
  Not only does this senseless firing hurt someone who so bravely 
served our Nation, but it will impact the ability of other veterans to 
receive the healthcare and benefits they need, earned, and deserve.
  How will firing veterans responsible for caring for other veterans 
make America greater?
  Last, I want to reiterate that what we do here at home reverberates 
around the world. One of my constituents spent 10 years dedicating his 
life to U.S. foreign policy at the State Department and USAID. He was 
already among the last staffers at USAID, where rounds of firings have 
hollowed out the Agency.
  But despite working for years to improve food security in countries 
of need around the world and despite exemplary performance reviews, he 
was fired. Further, he was posted overseas with a fellow public servant 
spouse. Now, he is essentially stranded abroad, fearing for his 
livelihood and future of his family.
  How will firing and abandoning Americans dedicated to helping others 
make America greater?
  Our Federal workforce is the backbone of this Nation. And their 
indiscriminate, unjust firings not only hurts them, but all Americans 
who rely on the government for critical services.
  It seems that Donald Trump and Elon Musk have mistaken the Federal 
Government for Silicon Valley. The old adage ``move fast and break 
things'' might ring true in the tech industry. But, in Washington, 
``moving fast and breaking things'' leads to chaos that everyday 
Americans bear the brunt of and suffer from.

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