WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark Warner announced Monday that he invited a federal employee from Petersburg, Virginia to the State of the Union Address.
On Tuesday, Cheryl Nazar, a nurse at a federal prison and a federal employee impacted by the 35-day shutdown, will be attending the address in Washington D.C.
“As a public servant working one of the most dangerous jobs in the country, for 35 days Cheryl had to continue providing care for inmates, despite the fact that her own safety and security was being compromised by the government shutdown,” said. Sen. Warner. “Since President Trump never took the time to meet with any federal workers during the shutdown, I hope Cheryl’s presence at the State of the Union will send a message that there are real people with real families who shouldered the burden of his shutdown, and make clear to the President that we can’t afford another.”
To weather the shutdown, Cheryl and her husband had to dip into their limited savings, which were close to exhausted by the time the government re-opened after 35 days.
Cheryl did receive her back pay on Thursday, January 31, but there is still fear of another government shutdown when funding runs out on February 15.
Virginia is home to more than 170,000 federal employees and thousands of federal government contractors.
