For the first time in US history, members of the US military are working without pay. This is all due to the ongoing 27-day government shutdown. Since 1976, there have been 20 different government shutdowns, but this is the longest in history, and now it’s affecting members of the US military.
Government Shutdown: Coast Guard Takes a Hit
Most shutdowns are due to one specific piece of legislation trying to be passed by the current president, but that isn’t being agreed upon in the House and Senate. For instance, the last government shutdown was about Obamacare. This current shutdown can be attributed to the wall along the US-Mexico border that President Trump is trying to obtain funding for.
The record-long shutdown impacts about a quarter of the government—but doesn’t include the members of Congress. That’s right, those holding up others from getting paid are getting their full salaries. According to the New York Times, around 800,000 government workers are currently without pay. What’s worse? Around half of them are expected to work.
TSA agents are among the unpaid workers and because of this, a gun was missed during a screening and made its way on a Delta flight to Japan. Among the unpaid are also 43,000 Coast Guard members.
“Today you will not be receiving your regularly scheduled mid-month paycheck,” Admiral Karl L. Schultz wrote in a statement. “To the best of my knowledge, this marks the first time in our Nation’s history that service members in a U.S. Armed Force have not been paid during a lapse in government appropriations.”
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The reason the US Coast Guard isn’t receiving paychecks during the government shutdown is due to the fact that the branch falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security and not the Department of Defense.
It seems both political parties aren’t budging on their positions on the wall. It remains unknown at this time when this record-breaking government shutdown will end.
Featured Image: Depositphotos © Wimbledon
