The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday distributed $10,000 bonuses to some TSA agents who worked throughout the government shutdown, a day after Congress voted to end the record 43-day shutdown.
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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem distributed the checks to some TSA agents during a news conference in Houston, where she announced that agents who “provided exemplary service” during the shutdown, including “taking on extra shifts” and “showing up each and every day,” would receive the bonuses.
Trump suggested giving bonuses to air traffic controllers earlier this week, while demanding that they “get back to work, NOW!!!,” writing, “anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘discounted.’”
It is unclear how many workers will receive the checks or how recipients were selected. DHS tweeted shortly after Noem’s announcement that “about 47,000 frontline TSA agents continued to do excellent work throughout the shutdown, even though Democrats withheld their paychecks.”
The agency said Noem awarded the bonuses to “the dedicated men and women of TSA who show up every day to serve and protect.”
Noem told reporters that “those are not necessarily the parameters” when asked if workers who did not call in sick or stayed home would be the ones to receive the payments.
You may be interested: The government shutdown cost the US $15 billion a week, according to the White House
Tangent
Absences of federal airport workers, including TSA agents and air traffic controllers, led to a spike in flight cancellations and delays during the government shutdown. Airport workers were among the approximately 730,000 government employees considered “essential” who had to work without pay during the government shutdown.
Flight schedules had not yet recovered as of Thursday, as the Federal Aviation Administration maintained a planned 6% reduction in flights at 40 high-traffic airports. Air traffic controllers were expected to receive about 70% of the back pay they are owed within 48 hours of the government reopening, federal officials previously said.
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Trump signed the bill into law Wednesday night to reopen the government, shortly after the House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 222-209. The Senate passed the legislation by a 60-40 vote on Monday, after eight Democrats broke ranks to vote in favor of the plan to keep the government funded through Jan. 30.
The votes broke a deadlock that began Oct. 1, when the fiscal year ended and Congress failed to reach an agreement on a new budget. Senate Democrats refused to provide the support Republicans needed to overcome the 60-vote threshold for filibuster, demanding an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies and a reversal of Medicaid cuts Republicans made earlier in the year.
Some Democrats agreed to vote for the plan this week under Republicans’ promise to negotiate an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year. The bill also required furloughed federal workers to receive back pay and rehire those who were laid off during the shutdown.
This article was originally published by Forbes US
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