Lawmaker: Pay Reimbursement Post-Shutdown 'Highly Unlikely'

If the government actually shuts down Friday night, hundreds of thousands of federal employees are likely to be designated as "non-excepted" from its effects, and will be placed on furlough without pay. Will they ever get that money back? Office of Personnel Management guidance says "Congress will determine whether 'non-excepted' employees receive pay for the furlough period." In previous shutdowns, Congress has typically made employees whole.

But one Washington-are lawmaker says he doesn't think that'll happen this time around. "It is highly unlikely that about 1 million federal employees who are not working will ever be reimbursed," Rep. James Moran, D-Va., said in a conference call Wednesday with reporters, according to the Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe. The reason, according to Moran? Today's GOPers are "far more anti-government in terms of their mindset" than the Republicans who ran the House during the 1995-96 shutdowns.