During a furlough, you do not get paid. You may not burn excess vacation or sick leave. You do not get paid; but the bills still arrive. Maybe you will get back pay, maybe you will not. You did nothing wrong, and are a political pawn. You cannot take a “vacation” and go anywhere because the day the bill is signed, you MUST report to work the next day. Even through several and they suck. Going with zero percent raises for 3 out of 8 Obama years was rough. Getting less than 2% every other year means we make less than we did 10 years ago. I could make a bit more in industry and for 28 years I did. Got tired of layoffs, reduction in force actions, having an Intel factory close, being out-sourced to Mumbai, India, and losing 90% of my retirement due to something I have zero control over. Now I build rockets that will take mankind to Mars, at a 30% reduction in my past salary - sacrificed for stability. And I put up with this crap. I am not your enemy. I am just a random Sr Scientist assigned to NASA, trying to earn a living and provide for my family.
You work for a government that gets shutdown quite often for political reasons. Therefore you must set aside savings for this contingency. NASA has planned, link here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-for-agencies/agency-contingency-plans/ along with the other plans. Not planning is not an optionl Not only do agencies need to plan, you need to plan.
What does it mean to “burn excess vacation or sick leave”?