Most House lawmakers may be out of town during the government shutdown, but many of their staffers in Washington, D.C., are hard at work — and working without pay.
These staffers, whose salaries can range from about $50,000-$200,000, are left wondering when their bosses will reopen the government as they take out loans and use funds from their savings account to cover daily expenses.
House Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor wrote in a memo to House staffers last month that their October paycheck, which was supposed to go out on the 31st, would be delayed until after a funding bill is passed.
The shutdown has stretched more than a month and broken the record for the longest in U.S. history. While there have been bipartisan negotiations in the Senate this week to come up with a possible deal to end the impasse, nothing has been agreed to.
“Any missed monthly regular pay roll disbursement will be processed and disbursed as soon as possible after enactment of appropriations legislation,” the memo says.
The news left House staffers, who only get paid once a month and last received a paycheck Sept. 30, scrambling.
“My wife and I just got married in June, and I had to dip into some of the money that we had set aside from our wedding to help cover our daily expenses, which is not ideal,” said one Democratic staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity, as did all staffers quoted in this story.
The staffer noted the whole situation was stressful, especially with Thanksgiving coming up.
“We’re hosting our family at our house, and so it’s like, are we going to be able to do everything that we wanted to do when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner if I didn’t get my paycheck?”
A House Republican staffer also said he’s dipping into his savings account — money he had set aside to put a down payment on a house in the future.
Many staffers have taken out short-term loans from the Congressional Federal Credit Union to help stay afloat. The credit union is offering a furlough relief line of credit of up to $20,000, featuring 0 percent interest during the 60-day draw period.
A second House Democratic staffer, who said he took out $10,000, noted it will keep him going for “at least a couple months.” But depending on how long the shutdown carries on, staffers could look for alternative solutions to get extra bucks.
“These people are trying to be independent, including myself. Like, do I call my parents? Do I ask for money? That’s so uncomfortable,” the staffer said.
The Senate has failed 14 times to advance a Republican stopgap measure, known as a continuing resolution, to fund the government through Nov. 21. The measure, opposed by Democrats, passed the House in September. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said at a Tuesday press conference that he didn’t think anyone expected the shutdown would “drag on this long.”
“I don’t see what they’re benefiting by keeping the government shut down, and so that definitely pisses me off. Like all it would take is just getting your conference in a room and getting them to vote yes on our clean continuing resolution,” the Republican staffer said.
But some Democratic lawmakers have felt even more emboldened to keep their shutdown strategy intact after the party emerged victorious in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, as well as the New York City mayoral race, Tuesday.
The wins make it “feel like this has given Democrats some wind in our sails in a lot of ways, and that we’ve kind of gotten a small mandate that they do want to see us continue to fight against this current administration,” a third House Democratic staffer said. “And so, yeah, it kind of put more wind in my sails to continue to batten down the hatches, try to live frugally for another month, if I need to, and hopefully we’ll be able to find a resolution that makes it all worth it.”
The Senate is expected to hold a vote Friday on the stopgap measure again. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is looking to then amend it to attach a three-bill spending package, which has been part of negotiations with Democrats.
It’s not certain whether enough Democrats, who have been demanding concessions on health care, will accept the deal, however. Eight members of the Democratic caucus would need to join Republicans to advance the bill. So far, only three have crossed the aisle.
Even without a clear end date on the shutdown, though, staffers have still found ways to rewind from work without splurging. A second House Republican staffer said she got back into crafting using items around her house.
The shutdown is ‘kind of all we talk about in the office. It’s all I work on in the office. So it’s like, I need a break at some point, right?” the staffer said.
A fourth Democratic staffer said he’s had more time to spend with friends, who are furloughed federal workers, playing sports and having small picnics.
“I think, like, having the availability of your community more than ever because a lot of people are furloughed … it’s kind of good in that way. It’s kind of messed up, but selfishly, at least I see my friends more.”
Al Weaver contributed.
