WASHINGTON — Two Maryland Democratic lawmakers are introducing a new bill to aid certain federal workers as the government careens toward a shutdown.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. Sarah Elfreth plan to introduce the Help FEDS Act on Monday afternoon. The bill would allow excepted federal employees to be compensated during a government shutdown. Excepted employees, also referred to as essential employees, are currently required to work during a shutdown without pay.
“President Trump, Elon Musk, and [OMB Director] Russ Vought have shown us very clearly over the last 9 months that they do not care about our civil servants – the patriotic men and women that work on behalf of the American people under Democratic and Republican presidents alike,” Alsobrooks said in a statement to The Baltimore Sun. “I will fight with all that I have to ensure our civil servants continue to be paid even if Republicans shut down the government because of their own incompetence.”
“If Congress can’t avert a shutdown, that doesn’t mean our constituents should have to suffer,” Elfreth said in a statement. “If we are asking these essential employees to go without pay and to keep providing their lifesaving services to the American people, the least we can do is provide them with some temporary financial support during these uncertain times.”
Under the bill, excepted federal employees would be able to apply for and receive unemployment benefits for any week they are required to work when government funding expires. The money would be paid to employees by their states. States would be reimbursed by the federal government.
The reimbursed funds would be distributed from the Unemployment Trust Fund.
It’s the latest bill meant to aid federal workers proposed by members of Maryland’s congressional delegation in preparation for a potential shutdown.
Democratic Rep. Johnny Olszewski Jr. introduced a shutdown-related bill on Friday. Known as the SAFE Act, the legislation would block the Trump administration from ordering mass firings should government funding lapse and pause agencies’ operations.
“This is something that has already disproportionately hurt Marylanders,” Olszewski Jr. told The Sun, referring to federal worker firings under Trump. “These are people with families, with mortgages. They’re trying to put food on the table. They shouldn’t be penalized as a result of the ongoing conversations around government spending.”
Over 22,000 federal employees reside in Olszewski Jr.’s district.
The bill would prohibit unlawful terminations during shutdowns. If an employee’s firing was found to be illegal, they would have to be reinstated with back pay. Maryland Democratic Reps. Kweisi Mfume, Steny Hoyer, and Elfreth cosponsored the legislation.
Neither bill is expected to be considered by the Republican-controlled chambers.
The SAFE Act was prompted by a memo from the Office of Management and Budget that outlined plans to terminate jobs beyond the standard furloughs federal workers face during a shutdown.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saw the memo as a threat to aid Republicans in negotiations.
“This is an attempt at intimidation,” Schumer said in a statement on the memo. “This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government. These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as today.”
Maryland Democrats believe the threat is real.
“Look at their past behavior,” Rep. April McClain Delaney told The Sun on Sept. 25. “Russell Vought definitely wants to make America break. I think break our agencies, break our workforce, break trust in many of the institutions in which we depend on.”
“If he said they’re going to do it, I believe that they will,” McClain Delaney added. “It’s not just blustering.”
Congress remains at loggerheads over how to fund the federal government. House Republicans passed a clean funding extension, known as a continuing resolution, on Sept. 19. The bill would fund the government until Nov. 21.
It has yet to pass the Senate, where the Democratic Caucus has coalesced its opposition. Legislation in the Senate requires bipartisan support to pass.
Democratic lawmakers have demanded that Republicans include health care provisions in any spending bill. They’ve sought rollbacks to Medicaid cuts from the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” passed earlier this year, as well as a permanent extension for the expiring Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.
On Monday afternoon, Trump will meet with the four U.S. congressional leaders — Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Schumer — at the White House to discuss funding the government.
Funding expires on Tuesday.
Have a news tip? Contact Ben Mause at bmause@baltsun.com.
