SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Five days. That’s how long Congress has to agree to a stopgap funding bill to keep the federal government open.
If not, it’ll shut down at midnight on October 1.
“The two parties are not agreeing very much. That's the only reason why it feels more real,” Jorge Llanos, President of NTEU 105, who has been with U.S. Customs & Border Protection for 32 years, said.
Llanos is the president of San Diego’s chapter of the National Treasury Employees Union. It represents federal employees in different agencies from the Food and Drug Administration, the IRS, and U.S. Customs & Border Protection, like Llanos.
“We're preparing for it. The employees are perfectly aware that if the shutdown comes, we're hoping that it only lasts a week or two. But, we'll see. Hope it doesn't last like the last one,” Llano said.
The last one Llanos is referring to is the 2018 government shutdown, which lasted 35 days, in which essential government workers were basically furloughed.
“I was in San Diego, and uh, it was very stressful. Everything else stops aside from being the essential personnel, which are the uniformed employees,” Llanos said.
“For the military personnel, they are still on the hook to work, but they don't get paid. unless there's a specific appropriation that allows for that payment,” David Boone, CEO of San Diego Military Advisory Council, said.
Boone’s non-profit advocates for our local military members, veterans, and their families.
“All of a sudden, you stopped getting a paycheck, and some families have some savings, and some don't,” Boone said. “And, so it becomes really a challenge at that point.”
Boone says the fallout of a possible federal government shutdown could be keeping people in the military.
“Ultimately, it could affect the retention. If you have this happen to you as a military family, what are the odds that you want to stay in, given that experience, right?” Boone said.
Both worry about what these federal workers could experience in the coming days. Llanos has a message for his union members.
“To hold fast, start saving. And uh, to be hopeful that the parties do agree on a bipartisan agreement,” Llanos said. “Even though the government might shut down, you can go to sleep knowing that we'll still be here, no matter what.”
