Forcing federal correctional officers to show up for work during a government shutdown without pay isn’t just unfair — it is reckless, and it puts lives at risk.

Once again, we are staring down the barrel of a government shutdown. For the correctional officers at Thomson Federal Prison — and thousands more across the country — that means being ordered to come in, suit up, and do one of the toughest, most dangerous jobs in America, all while their paychecks are put on hold until Congress decides to get its act together. Does that sound just? Of course not. Is it dangerous? Absolutely.

Think back to the shutdown of 2019, which lasted 35 days. That’s 35 days of correctional officers doing their jobs — keeping the peace inside federal prisons, managing some of the most volatile situations imaginable........

© The Hill