Congressman Panetta brings fired federal worker as congressional address guest

CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KION-TV) -- A former federal worker will be a guest of Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) after being impacted by federal job cuts.

Benjamin Vizzchero will be in the audience for President Donald Trump's address and is all too familiar with the impact of federal job cuts on the Central Coast.

Benjamin Vizzachero was a wildlife biologist for the Los Padres National Forest.

That was until he was terminated along with roughly 3,400 other U.S. Forest Service workers in mid-February.

His work included wildfire prevention efforts to protect the Big Sur Coast and the Monterey area.

He’ll be attending as a guest of Congressman Jimmy Panetta tonight and is calling on those in the Trump Administration to reconsider these cuts.

“I got screwed over. I don't know how I'm going to pay my rent. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do for healthcare, you know, I'm scrambling, trying to find it," Vizzchero said. "I got some part time work, but I also applied for unemployment. You know, all of a sudden, I'm kicked out on the street trying to make ends meet.”

Vizzchero adds that five other Los Padres National Forest employees were also terminated.