[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 15271]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             FEDERAL EMPLOYEES RETROACTIVE PAY FAIRNESS ACT

  (Mr. FITZPATRICK asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, we have a chance on the floor today to 
move this body in the right direction--to move us closer to a solution. 
There is a bipartisan bill today offered by Mr. Moran and Mr. Wolf, 
both of Virginia. It's a bill that I've cosponsored and a bill, 
thankfully, that the President has agreed to sign. It is the Federal 
Employees Retroactive Pay Fairness Act, which would allow all Federal 
employees, regardless of individual furlough status, to receive their 
pay retroactive from October 1 for the entirety of the budget impasse.
  The stalemate we're at now has left 800,000 government employees 
furloughed and unsure about their next paycheck. There are also those 
at work now who aren't being paid for it. This includes thousands of 
Federal law enforcement officers who continue even today to protect 
this building and those of us in it and around it.
  I've been in touch with Federal workers in my district, including law 
enforcement, and they should know that there is agreement that they 
will receive their pay when the government reopens.
  Mr. Speaker, I'm going to be voting in favor of this legislation for 
all the Federal employees in my district and around the country who 
deserve some certainty while we wait for this impasse to end.
  Mr. Speaker, let's continue to talk, and let's end this impasse.

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