Schakowsky Invites Furloughed Trump Shutdown Federal Employee as State of The Union Guest

Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Vice Chair of the Democracy Reform Task Force, released the following statement on attending the State of the Union and inviting Frank Lagunas, furloughed Trump Shutdown federal employee to serve as her State of the Union guest:

“The recent shutdown exposed the fragility of federal employees’ economic security,” Schakowsky said. “Roughly 800,000 federal workers and roughly 1.2 million contractors and their families were impacted. That is why I have asked Frank Lagunas, a federal worker for the EPA from Chicago, who was furloughed during the shutdown to serve as my State of the Union guest.

“I want to show President Trump how his hostage-taking of American workers has a continuing impact on the lives of every day citizens, especially those who are dedicated to the public good.”

Lagunas works for Region 5 of the Environmental Protection Agency. He is currently serving in the role of Remedial Project Manager of the superfund division. He remains an active member of the Region Response Support Corps, having served on deployments to help with EPA’s response efforts in Flint, Michigan and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Lagunas is a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University, holding a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. He served as a Staff Sargent in the United States Air Force and earned an associate degree in aerospace maintenance technology and management.

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