Tim Kaine: “I also rise to speak about our Federal workforce. In Virginia, there are about 170,000 Virginians who are Federal…”

“I also rise to speak about our Federal workforce. In Virginia, there are about 170,000 Virginians who are Federal employees. The density of Federal employees in our State is significant. I follow the comments of my colleague from Washington. They do all kinds of very important work. I think about the nurses at the Wounded Warrior hospital at Fort Belvoir, who are DOD civilian Federal employees. I think about folks who work in the Appalachian Regional Commission trying to help the Appalachian part of our State find economic strategies to move ahead. And there are so many others. I rise on their behalf to speak with significant concern about what the administration is doing. The Executive orders the President issued are part of a concerted effort to go after Federal employees, the majority of whom are hard- working individuals driven by the pursuit of public service. Under this administration, before these Executive orders, the workforce had already been subject to hiring freezes, proposed pay freezes, and cuts in their retirement. These additional Executive orders severely restrict or eliminate longstanding workplace rights and perpetuate less-than-optimal working conditions. They are being hastily implemented by managers across executive branch agencies, many of whom are political appointees who don't have history or expertise in working with particular agencies.…”