Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard welcomed the rare incident of bipartisanship:

These public servants have been unfairly caught in the midst of these partisan arguments. They and their families do not deserve to lose their paychecks because Congress is at an impasse. In Hawai‘i, more than 17 percent of our workers are federal employees. That means more than 25,000 hard-working people have been furloughed during this government shutdown. Because the House passed the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act today, these workers and their families can look forward to some relief in the midst of this harmful shutdown.

The bill, which was co-sponsored by Gabbard and U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, now goes to the Senate for a vote; Gabbard’s office said the Obama administration announced its support for the back pay Friday.

Workers won’t get paid until the shutdown — now in its fifth day — said The Hill. Some 800,000 workers have been furloughed. 

In related news, the Pentagon has ordered roughly 400,000 furloughed civilian employees back to work.

“After consulting with the Justice Department and Department of Defense legal counsel, Sec. Chuck Hagel noted furloughed employees could be brought back to the Pentagon, while still complying with federal guidelines governing the shutdown, according to the memo,” said a report in The Hill.

Photo: The Pentagon. (mindfrieze)

—Chad Blair