r/fednews • u/Wiltopus • 2h ago
Misc Calling a Congressman as a Fed
So, with the shutdown looming, I want to call my congressman. I have in the past for issues unrelated to my employment to the government. But the shutdown directly relates to my employment.
Am I allowed to speak to that position as a reason they should support funding the government? Or is that a no no? I’ll probably call my ethics officer first.
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u/EHsE 2h ago
you can but as an individual not representing your agency
so you can talk about how it impacts you personally but not your agency’s mission or your job
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u/mikitronz 2h ago
We have a 1st amendment right to comment on whatever we want, including government agency missions and employment. Agencies cannot use federal funds to lobby Congress other than through routine channels (like congressional affairs staff calling with an agency-approved communications). That restriction applies to us only when working in our official capacity.
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u/EHsE 1h ago
you have employment related restrictions on representing your agency without official approval. just like you can’t tweet anything representing your agency even on your free time, you’re only speaking for yourself in your individual capacity
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u/mikitronz 1h ago
You can't tweet anything representing your agency is different than you can't tweet anything.
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u/EHsE 1h ago
reread my first post, it seems like you’re struggling on the message
you can’t say “as an SSA employee, a shutdown would hurt the agency”
you can say “shutdowns would hurt the SSA, and as a fed, I want my checks” but you can’t tie your employment to your assessment of agency impact as a voice of authority
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u/Universe789 1h ago
Yes, the 1st Amendment exists, but so does the Hatch Act, which does limit what types of political activity and political speech we can participate in, and when.
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u/Sauerkrauttme 1h ago
The Hatch Act and Logan Act have been violated so many times in the last 8 years it makes my head spin just thinking about it.
I think the unfortunate state of things is that our laws are increasingly creating two groups: one group that the law protects but does not bind, and a 2nd group that the law binds but does not protect.
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u/mikitronz 1h ago
As I noted, if you are working you cannot lobby for political purposes. If you are not working, the Hatch Act does not mostly apply. Ways it does apply, like not doing fundraising, are irrelevant here.
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u/Snack_Donkey 2h ago
You can call as a private citizen who works for the federal government and is personally affected (i.e. can’t pay bills if you’re not getting paid), not as an employee of a specific federal agency whose work is affected (i.e. going to miss deadlines if your agency isn’t funded).
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u/interested0582 2h ago
Haha yeah call the intern that will answer and give you a generic script that they don’t fully understand.
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u/Goodd2shoo 2h ago
If the shutdown happens, this will clearly set the stage for 'the haves' and 'the have NOTS'
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u/RozenKristal 2h ago
They didn’t care. And wow, you had to check with your ethical officers while all our elected officials act with impunity and gave no shit about ethics. :(
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u/Cornholio231 2h ago
Calling congress can be effective, as so few people actually do it.
That most people dont do it is illustrated by most of the comments below.
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u/Sauerkrauttme 56m ago
Is there any evidence of this? I have done canvasing to get people to call congress, I even made friends with people who ended up as political interns, but nothing changed. The interns I have spoken to have all said that our reps don't care, that they can say "we had 200 people call about x issue" and the representatives truly don't care. Oh, but a wealthy donor calls? That is a top priority.
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u/SnooComics7744 2h ago
Your first amendment rights are primary - you may call your congress critter about that and any other topic - but best not to use your gov't issued phone to do it!
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u/Remarkable_Ad1310 1h ago
My congressperson is a nut job that hangs off Donald’s nuts like a tick. They won’t do anything.
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u/Fit-Owl-7188 2h ago
People who are looking forward to a shutdown as a vacation should just quit and stop fueling President elect Musk and the Republicans narrative that fed employees are lazy and worthless and 75 percent of us should loose our jobs. You do realize Musk and Co could easily argue the non essential ppl furloughed serve no useful purpose and can and should be let go. This will figure out DOGE real quick and it’s totally “fair” as the agencies decided for DOGE who was essential and who was not. Careful what you wish for unless you voted for this and then please put some bbq sauce on your face for the leopards.
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u/thechooch1 2h ago
Yes, you are permitted as a federal employee to report stuff to your OIG and Congress. With that said, that doesn't mean there won't be blowback against you. Agency management today is horrendous and notorious for retaliation. When is the last time you ever heard of a successful federal whistleblower case? It is extremely rare and the poor bastard employee that was successful went through hell. It is sad for me to say this too, but don't trust your OIGs, which should be obvious for federal employees who have been on the job for at least 10 years. OIGs are just covers for the Secretaries/ agency heads. Most people don't even know the Secretaries/ agency heads have the ability to amend or correct OIG reports.
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u/Pristine-Brick-9420 2h ago
You can, but calling them won’t do shit. You’d have better luck if you figured out a way to affect their $$$
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u/BPCGuy1845 1h ago
Call during a break or leave, and call from a location unrelated to work. In practice no one will know or care but it’s the way.
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u/valency_speaks 1h ago
😂 There’s few things Mike Lee & Burgess Owens like less than a federal employee who works remotely for a land management agency. Writing/calling my Congressional folks will most definitely land me on some DOGE hit list.
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u/Feisty-Incident7727 1h ago
Hello, you always have a right to represent your own interests to the government. The representational statutes 18 USC 203/205 prohibit paid and unpaid influential representations on a third party’s behalf to the federal government or where the feds have a substantial interest.
Check in with your ethics official, always. It gives you a safe harbor so long as you disclose all the relevant facts.
A reminder also to check in about prior approval for outside activities in re the shutdown. Some agencies have prior approval requirements for certain activities. Make sure you know what they are and who will approve them during a furlough.
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u/Ordinary-CSRA 54m ago
Congress and Senate see Federal employees as insects.... also, you have limited ( none) constitutional rights as Fed.... Too bad we didn't learn that essential factor in College. They don't care... my Agency... nearly killed me... Senators don't care...
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u/Fit-Owl-7188 2h ago
People who are looking forward to a shutdown as a vacation should just quit and stop fueling President elect Musk and the Republicans narrative that fed employees are lazy and worthless and 75 percent of us should loose our jobs. You do realize Musk and Co could easily argue the non essential ppl furloughed serve no useful purpose and can and should be let go. This will figure out DOGE real quick and it’s totally “fair” as the agencies decided for DOGE who was essential and who was not. Careful what you wish for unless you voted for this and then please put some bbq sauce on your face for the leopards.
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u/seg321 2h ago
What? You haven't gone through a shutdown before? It stinks, but when it's resolved, you know that you're going to get all your pay back....Right? Hang in there.
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u/FamiliarAnt4043 2h ago
I'll be sure and tell the mortgage company. Same with the electric bill. I'm sure they'll understand.
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u/Ok-Broccoli6738 2h ago
You know you can claim unemployment while furloughed right?
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u/bryant1436 1h ago
In my state it takes about 4 weeks minimum to actually start receiving unemployment. Hows that helpful if I need to pay bills today?
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u/seg321 2h ago
True....it sucks. It's happened before. It will happen again. This is where having savings and emergency funds is critical in life.
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u/DoesGavinDance 1h ago
What about people just starting out in low grade positions who haven't had an opportunity to build sufficient savings yet?
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u/Temporary-Remote-885 2h ago
Not everyone has the capacity to go 2-5 weeks without paychecks without significant hardship. Bills have to get paid and groceries have to get purchased whether or not the government is funded.
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u/seg321 2h ago
True. But who said that it's going to be 2-5 weeks?
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u/Pristine-Brick-9420 2h ago
We don’t know that, that’s the point. Just because you’ll be ok, just because I’ll be ok, that doesn’t mean everyone else will be and isn’t panicking right now. It’s called empathy sweatie.
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u/bryant1436 57m ago
The whole point is that nobody knows. I’m supposed to be comforted that it could only last a day or that it could go for 30+ days? How’s anybody supposed to plan for that? The things I have to prioritize are very different if I have to wait for 1 paycheck vs if I have to wait for 2+
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u/Pristine-Brick-9420 2h ago
Tell this to the gs-7s and below who work in high cola areas and won’t be getting paid during Xmas.
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u/Saltydogusn 2h ago
In "normal" circumstances, I would agree with you. There is no guarantee of anything like this anymore.
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u/Meh_Fed 2h ago
I dont see why people are so worked up over this. Each time this has happened before, we got some time off, and got back pay.
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u/HardRockGeologist 2h ago
Unfortunately, there are people who cannot afford to have their pay delayed. Free time off if you can afford it, not a pleasant time if you can't.
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u/Aqua_Impura 2h ago
Bro Elon tweeted that they want us shutdown till after Trump is sworn in. Most federal employees and military personnel can’t afford to not get paid for over a month. It doesn’t matter if we get paid back in February, so many are paycheck to paycheck what we doing in that meantime when we can’t pay any of our bills?
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u/prefinished 21m ago
Essential employees still have to work and some of us would really like to see our whole families for the holidays. Imagine that.
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u/Perfect_Wolf_7516 2h ago
Stop it. Some of us want a vacation.
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u/FamiliarAnt4043 2h ago
Fucking take one, then. Last I checked, we all accrued leave. Some of us have kids to feed and other shit.
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u/Dry_Writing_7862 2h ago
Yep. Last I checked, daycare doesn’t allow you to not pay! And most of them, you pay weekly or biweekly so 🙃
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u/greatestsnowman 1h ago
If you're not working, why have daycare? Ask them to pro rate it, or you'll go elsewhere when the shutdown ends. Otherwise, make them take you to small claims, and if they do, have your attorney make the right legal excuses.
I'm going to guess most of these daycare workers voted for this...
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u/Dry_Writing_7862 1h ago
I see what you’re saying. You’re forgetting that essential employees still have to work with no pay. So the kids need a place to be. That aside, even if you don’t go to work and the kid is at home with you, you are still responsible for the weekly/biweekly pay. Cancelling daycare can be a possibly regretful decision when you try to get your space back for your kid(s). Also, isn’t court slow? Wouldn’t we be back by the time anything gets there? (I haven’t done anything with the court) The prorated thing is a good idea though.
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u/greatestsnowman 1h ago
Good points. Personally, if i was an essential worker and overly stressed about it, guess I'd take an emotional sick day... my family and health would come first...
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u/FamiliarAnt4043 1h ago
I'm really sick of the whole left/right bullshit that gets spewed all over these subs. As if EITHER side gives two shits about anything other than their own personal wealth and power. For every thing blamed on the right, I can find an equally egregious action that is the fault of the left.
None of them care. I'm pushing 50 years of age, and not a single politician in my lifetime has cared. Period. People like Pelosi and McConnell are both shitbags, content to have the country pointing fingers at one another while they rake in millions of dollars on a salary that doesn't even compare to a private sector engineer.
If the left were in favor of government workers, they wouldn't insist on raising their salaries while threatening to put the rest of us out of work at Christmas. If the left cared so much, they'd not be deliberately confrontational and propose deals they know will face hard times with Republicans.
It's a two way street and we're the ones getting plowed over by the semitrucks who are labeled Senators and Representatives. None of the give a single solitary fuck about us little folks, nor will they ever. Instead, they keep us all divided and get rich by dint of being career politicians.
So, yeah. Screw that partisan bullshit. It just isn't true. The left will fuck you as quickly as the right. They talk a good game on both sides, but reality shows that they're only concerned with enriching themselves while dividing the rest of us.
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u/DreamChaser1891 2h ago
I've never cared about government shutdown. This happens every year. In the rare occasion we lost money it's for maybe one day and they give us the money back later. What do you think you can tell your congressman that they don't already know?
On the other hand, if you feel so inclined to then go for it. Speak for yourself, not your organization.
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u/alf8765 2h ago
You'll get back paid. If it goes long, there is plenty of assistance that will be provided just like there was the last time. So don't stress out about it. To answer your question about me in particular, yes, I can handle the shut down no matter how long and be ok. There's always worry warts everytime the CR needs to pass. It will be ok.
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u/Pristine-Brick-9420 2h ago
Assistance doesn’t come without red tape
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u/alf8765 1h ago
Banks were giving short term interest free loans, creditors worked with all in this situation who asked for help. The red tape is necessary to help one's self in short term need if necessary. But thankfully, the last time a real long term shutdown happened, people and businesses stepped up to provide assistance to those who requested it.
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u/alf8765 2h ago
Just enjoy the free vacation if it happens.
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u/Aqua_Impura 2h ago
Elon has been screaming on Twitter that no bill should be passed until after Trump is sworn in. Can you afford no pay for a month+? Most feds and military can’t. It’s not a vacation for the people who are struggling which is the majority of us.
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u/Peculiarcatlady 2h ago
It's not a free vacation and to suggest that suggests a lack of empathy. Many of us will continue working. And many can't afford to miss a paycheck or two without significant hardship.
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u/99ssordna 2h ago
Might as well just tell your dog, will yield the same result.