October 27, 2025 Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester and Chris Coons (both D-Del.), Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), along with dozens of their Senate colleagues, introduced legislation to pay military personnel, federal employees, and federal contractors whose salaries have been interrupted by the ongoing government shutdown. The bill ensures that both furloughed employees, as well as employees who have been excepted from furlough status and are continuing to work, are guaranteed to receive their standard pay. The bill would also require that all employees receive any delayed compensation within one week of enactment, to ensure

October 23, 2025 Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Chris Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester (both D-Del.), and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) led over 20 of their colleagues in introducing legislation to pay all federal employees – both those excepted and furloughed – as well as our servicemembers and federal contractors during the current Republican-led shutdown. The senators’ legislation, the True Shutdown Fairness Act, would also prevent the Trump administration’s attempts at mass firings (reductions in force or RIFs) while the government is shut down. “The Trump administration has used dedicated federal public servants as political pawns and now wants to pick and choose which federal workers get paid. Federal workers should not go without pay and

October 23, 2025 Washington, DC — U.S. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester and Chris Coons (both D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and 43 of their Democratic colleagues sent a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins calling on the USDA to release the billions of dollars at its disposal to ensure Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits continue in November.    “We were deeply disturbed to hear that the USDA has instructed states to stop processing SNAP benefits for November and were surprised by your recent comments that the program will ‘run out of money in two weeks,’” the senators wrote. “In fact, the USDA has several tools available which would enable