House staffers feel the pinch of a historic shutdown |
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 their 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........