Norton's Entire Staff Will Be Working If Government Shuts Down
Norton's Entire Staff Will Be Working If Government Shuts Down
April 7, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today took preemptive steps to deem her entire staff "essential" should the federal and District governments shut down on Saturday. Each Member of Congress may decide which staff are essential. Both Norton's Capitol Hill and District offices will remain open and will keep normal business hours. Her staff will work without pay during the shutdown.
Norton said, "The burden and the responsibilities of the staff that represent the District of Columbia are always greater than for other districts. We represent a district that has no senators and only one member of Congress." She said that, "With our local government also facing a shutdown, we cannot abandon our constituents, who may need us now more than ever. We hope that federal employees who have been deemed essential will be paid retroactively, although there is certainly no guarantee."
Norton has made repeated attempts to free D.C.'s local budget, which was passed by the Council last spring and by congressional committees last summer, from the congressional battle over federal funds. Yesterday, Norton joined D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray at a press conference to announce a shutdown contingency plan and to again call on the Congress to immediately pass her bill, the District of Columbia Fiscal Year 2011 Local Funds Continuation Act, to permit the District to spend its local funds for the remainder of fiscal year 2011.
Norton's memo to her staff follows.
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TO: ALL STAFF
FROM: EHN
DATE: April 7, 2011
RE: Federal Government Shutdown
As you know, there is a strong possibility that the federal government and Congress will shut down on Saturday, April 9th. Each Member may decide on "essential staff." All staff in our office is essential and both our Hill and District offices will be open and keep normal hours in the event of a shutdown.
The burden and the responsibilities of staff that represents the District of Columbia are always greater than for other districts. We represent a district that has no senators and only one Member of Congress. Our local government also faces a shutdown, even though the current fight in Congress is exclusively about federal funds. We cannot abandon our constituents, who may need us even more now.
I am co-sponsor of a bill that requires that members of Congress not paid during a federal government shutdown. So far, that bill has passed the Senate, but not the House. However, like federal agency employees, you will not be paid during the shutdown, even though, unlike other federal employees, you will be working. We hope that federal employees who have been deemed essential will be paid retroactively, although there is certainly no guarantee."
Your work is vital to D.C. residents and to me to carry out my constitutional responsibilities as a member of Congress. We must always be working and available to the residents of the District of Columbia. I know that they are grateful for your service. I am grateful, in addition, for your special sacrifice.