Bill provides 10% bonus to TSA and DHS workers who kept airports safe without a paycheck
WASHINGTON– Today, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) introduced a bill to provide Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees who report to work but have not been paid during the shutdown with a 10% bonus upon the agency’s reopening. Many Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who are being paid by funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, would not be subject to this bill, as they have been paid during the shutdown.
“For weeks on end, TSA agents have been showing up and keeping our families safe. And they’re doing it without a paycheck as Republicans play politics with their livelihoods,” said Senator Gallego. “They’ve blocked every effort to fund TSA and other DHS agencies, while ICE continues to get paid. These workers deserve to be recognized for their sacrifice.”
Senate Republicans have now—on 11 separate occasions—blocked bills to fund TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Coast Guard, and other important DHS functions, and they’ve blocked pay for TSA 8 times in a row. President Trump insists that Republicans reject any solution to fund TSA or DHS until Congress passes his “SAVE America Act.”
Read the full bill text HERE.
Senator Gallego has consistently supported efforts to support workers. Last year, he backed legislation to revoke President Trump’s EO repealing federal worker collective bargaining rights. He also recently introduced legislation to provide employees with time-and-a-half pay for work on federal holidays.