By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Thursday it would pay $10,000 bonuses to Transportation Security Administration officers who demonstrated exemplary service during the 43-day government shutdown, a spokesperson for the department said.
President Donald Trump said this week he wanted to award $10,000 bonuses to air traffic controllers who did not skip work. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he would work with Congress on the awards.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the bonus checks were being awarded to TSA officers who took extra shifts and went above and beyond work requirements during the shutdown. “They were an example … They helped individuals, they served extra shifts,” Noem said. “They helped with transportation of people getting back and forth to work.”
Noem said the checks were aimed at helping families of workers get back on their feet after going without pay for six weeks. Some workers struggled to pay mortgages, child care or other essential costs.
The government shutdown that ended on Wednesday forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers to work without pay. Staffing issues snarled travel at airports in recent weeks, sometimes leading to long security lines because of TSA absences and tens of thousands of delayed and canceled flights due to a lack of air traffic controllers.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese, Rod Nickel)
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