The partial federal government shutdown is hampering FBI operations, according to an advocacy organization that represents current and former agents of the bureau.
The FBI Agents Association released a petition Thursday that urged the White House and Congress to find a way to pass funding legislation as soon as possible, calling the shutdown a matter of national security.
On Friday, “FBI Agents will not be paid due to the partial government shutdown, but we will continue our work protecting our nation. We urge our elected representatives to fund the Department of Justice and the FBI because financial security is a matter of national security,” the petition reads.
“For agents, financial security is national security,” said Tom O’Connor, president of FBIAA, in a call with reporters on Thursday.
The Justice Department and this FBI were both impacted when the shutdown hit in late December. On Friday, government workers that have been deemed essential and must work without pay will not get paychecks — and that includes FBI agents.
Nearly 13,000 FBI special agents will miss their first paycheck of the year, O’Connor said.
One of the immediate impacts of no pay includes the “rigorous and routine financial background checks” on FBI agents.
“Missing payments on debts could create delays in securing or renewing security clearances, and could even disqualify Agents from continuing to serve in some cases,” the petition reads.
It adds that “FBI leadership is doing all it can to fund FBI operations with increasingly limited resources” but that it is a situation that “is not sustainable.”
[Related: Coast Guard employees told to hold garage sales, babysit to cope with partial shutdown]
The shutdown also impacts the FBI’s ability to recruit and retain agents, according to the petition, which is signed by more than 14,000 active and former FBI agents.
“The men and women of the FBI proudly serve this nation and are honored to protect our country and Constitution from all threats, foreign and domestic. We are confident that our leaders share this commitment to protecting our country and will find a path forward to fund the DOJ and the FBI,” the petition reads. “As those on the frontlines in the fight against criminals and terrorists, we urge expediency before financial insecurity compromises national security.”
The partial shutdown, if it extends past Friday’s federal pay period, renders 800,000 government employees without a paycheck.
On Saturday, it becomes the longest shutdown in federal government history.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., prevented Senate Democrats’ efforts on Thursday, day 20 of the shutdown, to get the chamber to vote on spending bills that would lead to a reopening. President Trump has indicated he will sign no legislation that does not include funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
