CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Uncertainty hangs in the balance for federal employees across the nation as Congress faces the battle of a potential government shutdown. On Sunday, lawmakers were able to develop a solution to extend government funding until November 17.
The temporary bipartisan bill drops money for Ukraine, which has been a priority from the White House, but was not supported by GOP lawmakers. The bill also increases federal disaster assistance by nearly $16 billion.
If the government was to move towards a shutdown, it would impact more than 4 million federal employees, including individuals working with the Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Service, Transportation Security Administration, military servicemen, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and more.
Many of them would not receive a paycheck and have to decide whether to lose money or go to work for free. Either way, millions will begin to consider utilizing assistance from local organizations including food banks.
Bea Hanson, the Executive Direction with the Coastal Bend Food Bank said she and her team are more prepared to help if anyone is in a bind.
"We’re ready because we know how to help families in need and that may feel a little self conscious asking for help, but that’s our mission, that’s what we’re here for and we’re ready to take care of any emergency," Hanson said.
Families will also be out of receiving assistance from programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). That's what nearly happened in 2018 during the previous shutdown that lasted a month.
However, Hanson ensures that someone like this won't impact the food bank as she emphasized that the community keeps it running.
“It is the community and it is the people that care and we help one another," Hanson said,"That’s how we came through in years past.”
Some workers may also be part of a union like the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which is the largest federal employee union representing 750,000 federal and D.C. government workers. Those particular groups can also offer support to people during shutdown periods.
"No one wants to have to do that," Cheryl Eliano with AFGE said,"No one wants to say, especially if they have a job, that they need food, they need someone to help with the water bill, they need someone to help with anything. Especially not when they work for the federal government.”
Either way, if November comes around and lawmakers still do not have a solution, Americans will have to deal with the ripple effects across the nation.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
