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Cloud determined to help those affected by partial government shutdown

Posted at 6:10 PM, Jan 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-25 19:23:05-05

More than 800,000 government workers nationwide have been impacted by the partial government shutdown.

Congressman Michael Cloud says now that a bill to temporarily re-open the government is in place, United States Coast Guard employees will receive back pay for those checks that were missed.

However, the struggle those workers have gone through has not gone unnoticed to the congressman.

“That doesn’t pay the rent, that doesn’t put food on the table, that doesn’t pay the electric bills, all those things that need to happen on a day to day basis,” Cloud says.

Ideas on how to help furloughed workers were brought to the table at the Coffee Waves in Flour Bluff.

These notions might be used in a few weeks if a permanent deal between President Trump and the lawmakers is hammered out. Ideas include working with banks on making advancements and reimbursements easier and coming up with unique fundraisers to help these workers make ends meet.

“That’s a realistic need, people are having problems getting gas in their car, getting milk in their refrigerator,” says USO South Texas executive director Sarah Banta.