WASHINGTON — Following the federal government shutdown Tuesday night, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) has introduced a bill to support federal workers impacted financially.

The Emergency Relief for Federal Workers Act is intended to help federal workers who may experience financial hardship by being out of work during the shutdown.

“Government shutdowns inflict senseless pain on federal workers. While I successfully passed my bill to guarantee back pay for federal employees during a shutdown, paychecks can still be delayed,” said Kaine.

In a release, Kaine said federal employees who use their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) retirement accounts during shutdowns are penalized for withdrawing funds.

“If workers need to withdraw funds from their retirement accounts during a shutdown, this bill would

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