And, IIRC, they are all made ‘whole’ once the ‘shutdown’ is resolved...
The only pain they feel is short term, which they should have already accounted for in their personal budgeting.
Using FedGov empolyee pain as a tool to force the GOPe to cave is a red herring argument, at best.
Of course, it is the GOPe, so...
As a result of conflicts between Democratic then-President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress over funding for education, the environment, and public health in the 1996 federal budget, the United States federal government shut down twice——for 5 and 21 days, respectively.
<><>from November 14 through November 19, 1995,
<><>and from December 16, 1995, to January 6, 1996.
Republicans also threatened not to raise the debt ceiling.
The first shutdown occurred after Clinton vetoed the spending bill the Republican-controlled Congress sent him, as Clinton opposed the budget cuts favored by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and other Republicans.
The first budget shutdown ended after Congress passed a temporary budget bill, but the government shut down again after Republicans and Democrats were unable to agree on a long-term budget bill.
The second shutdown ended with congressional Republicans accepting Clinton’s budget proposal. The first of the two shutdowns caused the furlough of about 800,000 workers, while the second caused about 284,000 workers to be furloughed.