The agreement reached in the Senate today to end the shutdown includes retroactive pay for federal workers who were furloughed.
Approximately 800,000 federal workers were furloughed by the government shutdown that began on October 1.
The House recently passed two pieces of legislation surrounding pay for federal employees during the shutdown. One bill would have ensured that federal employees that had to work during the shutdown were paid on time; the other would provide backpay to those that were furloughed and not working. The latter bill got hung up in the Senate after it passed the House, so if the agreement being worked on today in the Senate comes to fruition it will be welcome news for furloughed federal workers.
The agreement would fund the government until January 15 and raise the debt ceiling through February 7. The bill is expected to pass both the House and Senate. The president has said he will “sign it immediately” to reopen all government operations.
