Colorado congressional members, federal workers speak up amid shutdown

DENVER (KDVR) — The federal government shutdown continues with Thursday marking the ninth day of the stalemate that does not seem to have an end date yet.

We are now hearing from federal workers in Colorado about how the shutdown is impacting them.

Workers voice frustrations

Congresswoman Diana DeGette, of Colorado’s First Congressional District, held a roundtable of federal workers in Denver on Thursday. Workers expressed their frustrations about their lives being put on hold as Congress fails to make an agreement.

“I invited more people to come today, but maybe you guys will talk about how a lot of federal employees are afraid to speak out in front of the press because they are afraid to be fired,” said DeGette as the roundtable got underway.

DeGette said she invited federal employees like air traffic controllers to come forward and share their experiences with the public, but many of them were either fearful or could not leave work due to staffing shortages; some were working six-day workweeks to meet demand. Workers, who are also union members, from the Environmental Protection Agency and Social Security Administration were able to share their stories.

“Where we currently work is this weird, ‘we’re shut down, but we’re not going to tell you that we’re shut down. We’re going to stop doing our civil inspections, but we can do our criminal inspections, but we’re not really going to tell you guys that. You can buy some things but you can’t buy other things.’ We don’t really know what’s going on. Our leadership doesn’t really know what’s going on,” said Justin Bordoff, AFGE Local 3607 Legislative Advocate and EPA worker.

The congresswoman said there are 11,681 federal workers in Denver alone who will either go without pay or get furloughed. She also said more than 53,000 active-duty military members will go without pay. Some workers said they are starting to feel the pain in their wallets with the next pay date of Oct. 15 looming for many federal employees.

“A lot of our members were already living paycheck to paycheck. You know? Then the prospect of not getting paid or getting paid late is devastating. If you miss one payment or you are late on one payment, that could have repercussions for years. This doesn’t go away when the shutdown ends,” said Brenda Cartsen, AFGE Local 4012 and Social Security Administration worker.

While some workers can go back to work whenever the shutdown ends, EPA worker Missy Haniewicz said she was fired last week for conduct unbecoming of a federal employee after she signed the Declaration of Dissent, a petition protesting what workers said was an undermining of science by the administration. Before her firing, she was put on administrative leave in July. She said she plans to appeal the agency’s decision.

“My attorney said it’s generally about four months for the appeal to go through, so it’s four months plus whatever the furlough is that I’ll have to be waiting. I’m able to look for another job. There are no federal jobs. And if I go to the private sector, I’d want to come back to federal because of the pension,” said Haniewicz, also an AFGE Local 3607 member.

She described her frustration with the administration’s relationship with federal workers since taking office. “I don’t have a lot of hope for the next three plus years. I think it’s really just about white knuckling it. Sorry to be negative but I think is just going to be about holding on,” said Haniewicz.

Congresswoman DeGette said agencies have told her office they are not going to respond to congressional inquiries during the shutdown, different from shutdowns in other years.

Democratic members of Congress weigh in

Before Thursday’s roundtable, Colorado’s Democratic congressional members briefed members of the press late Wednesday about the shutdown and where negotiations stand.

“Our ask, our request is very simple. It is to ask Republicans and the Trump administration to get serious to stop playing political games, to work with us in good faith and negotiate an agreement that ultimately reopens the government and addresses the healthcare crisis that they have created,” said Congressman Joe Neguse of Colorado’s Second Congressional District. Neguse said he spent Wednesday speaking with federal workers in his district as well.

“This is a manufactured shutdown by the Republican majority and President Trump. We did not have to be here; they created this crisis in early July when they passed Trump’s mega bill that actually will devastate healthcare for millions of Americans, hundreds and thousands of Coloradans, and we simply aren’t going to go for it,” Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado’s Sixth Congressional District told members of the press.

Members are pointing to a renewal of the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits that help keep individual health insurance premiums affordable as a major factor for the standstill ahead of the start of Open Enrollment season.

“I hope it’s tomorrow, I hope it’s the next day. Originally, there was a planned recess next week. Now, we’re canceling everything on that recess. It’s frustrating on a lot of levels,” said Senator John Hickenlooper. “Again, I’m not sure if we roll over and just say ‘Oh, it just doesn’t matter,’ penalizing millions of Americans and subjecting them to dramatically increased healthcare costs, along with all the other increases that they’re facing, that doesn’t seem plausible. It’s not acceptable,” he said when asked if Democrats should approve a one-year extension of the credits rather than waiting for an agreement on a permanent extension.

Colorado’s Republican Representatives Respond

Three of Colorado’s Republican members of Congress responded to the Democratic press conference via a statement:

“House Republicans did our job — we voted to keep the government open, pay our troops and federal employees, and protect critical services for hardworking families. Colorado Democrats chose to shut down the government instead, choosing to block the same clean funding bill they supported 13 times under the Biden Administration while pushing a dirty CR packed with $1.5 trillion of partisan demands — including taxpayer funded healthcare for illegal immigrants. If Democrats want to prioritize affordable healthcare, we must first start with the overregulation at the state level which has affected hard-working families and resulted in a 22% premium increase over the past two years. Colorado Democrats are wasting valuable time on political games that could be spent on reopening the government.”- Colorado Republican Representative Gabe Evans (CO-08), Representative Jeff Crank (CO-05), and Representative Lauren Boebert (CO-04) 

Congressman Gabe Evans also sent Fox31 a statement when asked if he was meeting with federal workers:

“Congressman Evans has been in communication with individuals across Colorado’s 8th District who are being negatively impacted by the shutdown — from federal employees, including members of the National Guard and active-duty service members, to hardworking families, small businesses, and others whose livelihoods depend on federal programs and funding. He’s committed to ensuring their concerns are heard and continues to urge Senate Democrats to put politics aside, vote for the same plan they supported 13 times under Biden, and work with Republicans to reopen the government and end this harmful shutdown.”- Colorado Republican Representative Gabe Evans (CO-08)

Senators continue to hold votes on potential solutions, with a seventh vote failing on Thursday. House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to call for senators to vote on the resolution his chamber already passed, telling representatives they will be on a 48-hour recall notice indefinitely.