Furlough days for thousands of employees ordered off the job in the ongoing US government shutdown may turn into paid leave if Congress passes legislation that retroactively pays lost wages.
The measures were considered just as a dramatic car chase unfolded in Washington in which US Capitol Police - who are working during the shutdown but without pay until the budget crisis is resolved - helped stop the suspect.
The incident shined a glaring spotlight on those federal employees working without pay while lawmakers wrangle over ending the shutdown, which enters its fourth day on Friday.
Members of the House of Representatives and Senate filed bills that would ensure all federal employees receive retroactive pay for the duration of the workstop.
"They deserve their pay, not financial punishment," House Democrat James Moran said in a statement.
The measure is rooted in the last government shutdown, from December 1995 into January 1996.
Congress ultimately passed legislation that assured that the 800,000 federal employees who were furloughed for three weeks were paid in full when government re-opened.
This week's bill is one of several emergency measures that the Republican-led House could consider as early as Friday to fund government piece by piece as Washington battles over setting spending levels.
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