January 18, 2019

Dear Friend,

As this scandalous government shutdown continues, I wanted to update you on what we are doing to end it and provide you with information that may be useful if you are an affected federal employee or contractor. As the Representative of 88,000 federal employees and tens of thousands more contractors, I have no higher priority right now than ending this shutdown. That's why I met with federal employee unions from the AFL-CIO last week, have championed successful legislation to guarantee all furloughed workers will get back pay, and am pushing for a rapid solution to end the shutdown.

Rep. Raskin speaks at the NCR press conference

I am receiving daily calls, texts, and emails from constituents about the shutdown and want you to know that I am listening and learning about the effects of this debacle on our people. Last Wednesday, I shared some of your shutdown stories at a press conference with my colleagues from the National Capital Region. You can read more about the constituent stories I shared in this Washington Post article.

If you haven't yet, you can still share your own shutdown story with me here.

I will continue collecting and sharing these stories of hardship and distress during press conferences and events, which you may follow on my social media pages: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. I hosted a Facebook Live briefing on the shutdown and resources for affected workers earlier this week, which you can watch here. 

My staff is working hard to soften the blow of these events and we are all available to help however we can. You can visit this page my website to view a list of resources for workers and contractors affected by the shutdown. 

All Best,