Just as there was an eleventh-hour delay in passing a continuing resolution over 48 hours ago, by Congress, there was an eleventh-hour breakthrough in passing a continuing resolution until March 14, 2025. Make no mistake, many of the deals that get worked out, only occur due to your persistence in speaking with local media, making calls and writing emails to your Congressional representatives’ offices and then asking your friends and families to do the same. As we have come to know, these types of political games seem to be the norm for Congress, unfortunately it is always at the expense of the American people, many of whom are federal employees. It is nonsensical to perpetually place the people that Congress works for at risk of losing their pay, which is used for everyday essentials like rents, bills, gasoline, and food. These games affect everyday Americans’ paychecks that are used for infusing local communities’ economies and funding the very budget, which these supposed leaders are fighting over, during the most vulnerable time of the year. These poorly-calculated politics come with real consequences—not for Congress who continue to get paid—rather for their constituent lessors who do not control the strings of power or possess immense wealth to hold influence over their elected officials. We have a long fight ahead for Fiscal Year 2025, with a quickly approaching continuing resolution deadline of March 14, 2025, but we need not wait until then to make our voices heard. We must be loud enough for our opposers to hear and severely fierce in our actions so they may feel our collective strength. For now, there is little time for respite; come the new year, there will
be no time for rest; and in the coming years, the internal battle for the sole existence of our rights, pay, and Union will be on the line. This is the time for those who are authentic in their leadership to step up, or for those not built for the long haul to step out. You are excused.