Government Operations Subcommittee to Hold Field Hearing on the Government Shutdown’s Effects on Federal Contractors

The following press release was published by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on May 1, 2019. It is reproduced in full below.

Washington, D.C. - On Monday, May 6, 2019, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, will hold a field hearing examining the effects the longest ever government shutdown had on federal contract employees. Many federal contract employees were never made whole following the shutdown and continue to fear the financial threat posed by repeated government shutdowns. This hearing will look at direct and collateral costs of government shutdowns on contract employees and offer potential legislative and administrative remedies to these issues.

WHERE: George Mason University, Alan and Sally Merten Hall, 4441 George Mason Blvd, Fairfax, VA 22030

WHEN: Monday, May 6, 2019

TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

PARKING: Available on site

The hearing will be broadcast here.

BACKGROUND

* The longest shutdown in the federal government’s history ran 35 days, from midnight on December 22nd through January 25th. The shutdown was the 3rd federal government funding gap of the Trump Administration.

* In addition to the 400,000 federal employees affected by the shutdown, approximately 800,000 contractors from 10,000 companies that support and enhance the government directly felt its negative effects.

* Federal employees rightly received back pay for the days they were furloughed, but many contractors - who support, supply, or sit directly next to these federal employees - received no similar recompense.

* These contractors live and work in every state in the nation, including:

** NASA contracts worth $7.9 million per week in Huntsville, Alabama and Cape Canaveral, Florida.

** Virginia’s 11th Congressional district includes an estimate of at least 70,000 contractors, representing over 16% of the employed workforce.

* In the National Capital Region, federal contracts pump $66 million into the local economy every week.

* The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that the shutdown had an adverse effect on at least 41,000 small businesses across all 50 states, costing them more than $2.3 billion in lost revenue.

* Many affected contractors were low-wage employees, including security guards, janitors, and other service workers.

WITNESSES

Roger A. Krone

CEO

Leidos

Jaime Contreras

Vice President

SEIU 32BJ

Alba Alemán

CEO

Citizant

Wesley Ford