WASHINGTON (AP) — Jessica Sweet spent federal government shutdown Cut back. To make ends meet, the Social Security claims specialist drank only one cup of coffee a day, skipped meals, cut back on groceries and postponed some household payments. She bought gas to get to work and saved money on a credit card.
The longest shutdown in history is nearing the endMr. Sweet and hundreds of thousands of other unpaid federal employees may soon receive some relief. But many feel their livelihoods have become political pawns in a battle between recalcitrant lawmakers in Washington and are asking themselves whether the fight was worth their sacrifices.
“It’s very frustrating to go through something like this,” said Sweet, a union with AFGE Local 3343 in New York. “This shakes the foundation of trust that we all have in our agencies and the federal government to do the right thing.”
shutdown Started on October 1st After Democrats rejected amendments to short-term funding and demanded that the bill include deadline extensions. Federal subsidies for health insurance Pursuant to the Affordable Care Act. The end came, 8 Democratic senators A deal was reached to provide funding to the government without extending expired subsidies.
Federal employees felt the impact of the shutdown deeply.
shutdown It created a series of problems for many Americans. At least 670,000 federal employees were furloughed during the government shutdown, and about 730,000 others worked without pay, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The plight of federal employees was one of several pressure points. airplane disturbance and food aid cutswhich ended up ratcheting up pressure on lawmakers to reach a deal to fund the government.
During the six-week shutdown, officials in President Donald Trump’s administration repeatedly used federal employees as leverage to try to force Democrats to repeal the bill. their medical needs. The Republican president has indicated that workers who work without pay will not receive their wages back. He threatened and then carried out the firing of federal employees who were already reeling from layoffs earlier this year. At that time the court Prevented shutdown launchincreasing uncertainty.
The agreement, which ends the shutdown, will cancel any layoffs that occurred after October 1st and secure back pay. Furloughed federal employees The Trump administration had doubts remained. bipartisan agreement Provide funding to restart the government. SNAP food assistance and other programs.
Dissatisfaction with the shutdown and how it ended
But the whiplash of the past six weeks, coupled with concerns that the longest shutdown in history may not be the last, has many workers reeling.
“Stress and hunger are great ways to traumatize people,” Sweet says.
For Sweet, feeling betrayed by Democratic senators who broke with her party over health care subsidies only adds to her frustration.
She said she understands that many workers were desperate to get paid. But she thought taking a firm stand on the issue of health care subsidies was worth the sacrifice.
“There are other federal employees who understand what we’re drawing the line for and are very frustrated that the line was crossed and their trust violated,” she said.
ready to go back to work
Adam Pelletier, a field investigator for the National Labor Relations Board who was furloughed on Oct. 1, said he’s glad the compromise includes rehiring laid-off workers, but that “reaching an agreement feels like the Charlie Brown cartoon where Lucy takes the soccer ball and pulls it out of them.”
Pelletier, the NLRBU Local 3 union leader, had been financially preparing for the closure in March when it became clear that no agreement on funding would be reached between Democrats and Republicans. He said the federal government shutdown made him feel like a “pawn” because federal employees had no say in their fate.
Federal workers who spoke to The Associated Press had a common message: They are shaken but ready to get back to work.
“This has been the worst time in my 20 years as a federal employee,” said Elizabeth McPeak, a furloughed IRS employee in Pittsburgh and first vice president of the Treasury Employees Union Chapter 34. She said her colleagues had to beg their landlords to postpone collecting rent and had to rely on food banks during the shutdown.
“One month without pay is a long time,” McPeak said.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the federal government shutdown. https://apnews.com/hub/government-shutdown.
