WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker co-sponsored the Emergency Relief for Federal Workers Act of 2019 to make sure federal workers experiencing financial hardship due to the government shutdown can access money from their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) without penalty.
“I’ve seen the pain and hardship the Trump Shutdown is causing thousands of federal workers in New Jersey– many who’ve been forced to raid their retirement savings just to pay bills or keep food on the table for their families,” said Sen. Menendez. “The least we can do is get rid of the financial penalties that normally come with accessing these accounts until the president comes to his senses and re-opens the government.”
The Emergency Relief for Federal Workers Act of 2019 would ensure federal workers are not penalized for making withdrawals from their retirement savings and gives them the opportunity to recontribute funds to their TSP accounts after the shutdown ends. The bill:
Kaine lodged an objection to the Senate adjourning while hundreds of thousands of federal workers were set to miss their first paycheck, which led to legislation becoming law to back pay federal employees. This Emergency Relief for Federal Workers Act of 2019 allows federal workers who take money out of their retirement plan to recontribute the money once they receive back pay to preserve their long-term retirement savings.
The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Dick Durbin (D-Ill), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).
The bill is also supported by National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), AFL-CIO, Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA).
To read a fact sheet on the Emergency Relief for Federal Workers Act of 2019, click here.
To read the bill text of the Emergency Relief for Federal Workers Act of 2019, click here.
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