Warner, Kaine push bill to shield federal workers from evictions, defaults amid shutdown • Virginia Mercury

As the federal government shutdown stretches into its third week, Virginia’s U.S. senators are backing a bid to shield federal workers and contractors from the fallout. Last week, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined 16 other Senate Democrats in introducing the Federal Employee Civil Relief Act, a bill intended to protect federal employees, federal contractor staff and their families from evictions, foreclosures, repossessions and defaults during a funding lapse.The legislation would halt evictions or foreclosures, stop repossession of vehicles or other property, prevent negative credit impacts, pause student loan default consequences, and let workers stay current on bills and insurance premiums — protections that would remain in place for the duration of a shutdown plus 30 days afterward.