Virginia Lawmaker Wants to Shield Federal Workers from Debt Collection Suits

A representative in the Virginia House of Delegates said last week that he intends to introduce legislation that would prohibit debt collection actions against federal workers in state courts while the U.S. government is in shutdown. He also wants to prevent power companies from shutting off utilities of federal workers behind on payments.

Delegate Bob Marshall (R-Manassas) said on his Facebook page that the proposal “would prevent Virginia Courts from processing any claims for debt collection of any kind during the period of a federal shutdown.” Monday, he clarified to DC radio station WTOP that the legislation would impact cases “against employees directly affected by the shutdown, which is primarily federal employees.”

Virginia’s General Assembly is not currently in session so Marshall sent a letter to Governor Bob McDonnell requesting a special session to consider the proposal. McDonnell declined the request, Marshall told insideARM.com.

Marshall said he will pursue his debt collection prohibition proposal when the General Assembly convenes in January.

Virginia is home to nearly 200,000 federal employees, and many more private workers that depend on contracts from the U.S. government. Marshall’s district, around DC suburb Manassas, is home to many impacted by furloughs.

Marshall is an outspoken critic of the Affordable Care Act. In fact, he previously implored fellow Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate to associate appropriations bills with defunding Obamacare, a tactic most observers feel is the exact cause of the current government shutdown.

In June 2012, during the national debate over the new healthcare law in the 2012 Presidential and Congressional campaigns, Marshall urged his colleagues in a statement to prohibit federal funding of the Affordable Care Act:

“Merely passing a repeal of Obamacare as proposed by Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) can and will be ignored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

Therefore, Congressional Republicans’ opposition to Obamacare will be taken seriously by the public only if they vote to defund every part of Obamacare IMMEDIATELY by attaching prohibitions on all thirteen Appropriations bills forbidding the use of any funds to implement any aspect of the misnamed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act!

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To repeat, if Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate want to show Americans they are serious about stopping Obamacare, they must support amendments to each of the thirteen Appropriations bills they will pass this year to fund the federal government prohibiting the use of any funds to implement Obamacare.”