A disgruntled furloughed federal worker (with a family to feed) protests the fact he can’t go to work and doesn’t know when or if he is getting paid! A situation Rep. Doggett described within the context as being “bizarre” and “absurd” when he addressed the House on the issue of the government shutdown on Saturday.
On October 5, 2013 Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of representatives for one minute regarding the government shutdown. His comments centered around the incredible oddity (or should I say insanity) of actually paying government workers “not to work”, during the shutdown in which members of Congress can’t seem to be able to resolve at this point.
“Mr. Speaker, Federal workers, already under sustained attack from the Republican Shutdown Caucus, certainly deserve to have no further abuse, but the approval of this bill is surely one of the more bizarre moments in a truly bizarre Republican-controlled House.”
“These great conservative stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars refuse to let our Federal workers work; and now, today, they approved legislation to pay them for not working. Getting nothing for your tax dollar. That’s the new Republican-Tea Party concept of fiscal responsibility”, he said.
“Of course, the Federal workers, even though they have paid leave now, are justifiably unhappy because of the uncertainty of not knowing from day to day whether they will be called to work and not knowing whether that paid leave will arrive in time to meet their bills at the end of the month. Paying Federal workers not to work–a new level, truly, of absurdity in this politically manufactured government shutdown”, said Rep. Doggett (source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov).
Congressman Doggett serves on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax, trade, Social Security and Medicare. Congressman Doggett is also a member of the Subcommittees on Social Security and Trade, and is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Human Resources.