Senate cafeteria workers reportedly face layoffs if Congressional stalemate continues

Up to 80 people who are part of the Senate cafeteria staff in the capitol could face layoffs by October if Congress can't emerge from its coronavirus relief deadlock, CNN reports.

The company that employs the workers, Restaurant Associates, did not confirm the number, but did not deny issuing warnings of potential layoffs, which are the result of having to close some of its restaurants because of the pandemic.

Senators told CNN they believe they will pass a bill that will fund the Architect of the Capitol — the federal agency that oversees the day-to-day function of the Capitol and has a private contract with Restaurant Associates — in time, allowing employees to continue to receive their paychecks, like the CARES Act did.

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Lawmakers said they were committed to protecting the workers' jobs, although Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) blamed Restaurant Associates, which he said "has been a problem to deal with," rather than his colleagues for the layoffs threat. As Murphy sees it, the company is simply trying "get more money out of the Architect of the Capitol," which he said could mean it's "time to find a vendor that's not going to use the threats of layoffs as a cajole to try to get more money." Read more at CNN.