But this is about more than just federal employees.
The communities and the states where federal workers live are hurting, too. The economic uncertainty -- and the potential damage to local economies -- is real. And potentially devastating.
That's why it was so right -- and so important -- for Congress to vote to assure that federal employees will be paid retroactively when the current crisis is resolved.
America cannot afford to lose the value added by public employees.
It is not just the work they do on behalf of the public interest and the great mass of Americans. These workers play a vital role in maintaining the economic viability of communities from Maine to California.
According to a Goldman Sachs study, every day of the shutdown robs the US economy of $400 million in economic activity -- because of lost pay. The study estimates that economic growth would slow measurably -- perhaps by 0.2 percents points -- after just one week of a shutdown.
And the damage is most severe in areas of high government employment.
That explains why Democratic and Republican House members from Virginia and Maryland -- centers of federal employment -- sponsored a measure to guarantee that furloughed workers will receive their lost pay retroactively.
Maryland Democrats Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski joined Virginia Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine to co-sponsor the back-pay legislation, along with House Republicans such as Virginian Frank Wolf.
"Hardworking federal employees did not cause our fiscal crises, nor did they contribute to the legislative gridlock," says Cardin. "It is our responsibility to assure these public servants, mostly middle class and struggling to get by like so many other Americans, will be made whole again when it finally ends."
Congressman Mark Pocan, D-Wisconsin, sums things up when he says, "A shutdown isn't fun and games; it's detrimental to our economy and the security of middle class families."
Pocan's point is well taken.
It ought to be made more often.
Recognizing and defending the work that federal employees do is essential.
Recognizing the contribution they make to their communities and to the whole of the country is essential.
"Federal workers in Vermont and around the country should not have to pay the price for the House Republicans' refusal to keep the government open," says Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont. "These dedicated workers have families to feed and bills to pay and we must make it clear that when this is over they are going to get paid."
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