The 32-day-old government shutdown is leaving marks, and not just on the 800,000 federal employees about to miss their second paycheck.
On Tuesday, the Transportation Security Administration sent out a letter requesting at least 250 TSA agents in 10 states to move to airports hit hard by employees calling in sick, CNN reports, travel and hotels paid for by Uncle Sam (eventually). So many USDA meat inspectors are calling in sick that the department briefly ordered them to bring doctor's notes for every sick day, and federal prisons are making secretaries and janitors patrol the halls and yards, The Washington Post reports. On Tuesday, the FBI Agents Association issued a report detailing shutdown-induced paralysis at the nation's top law enforcement agency.
Also on Tuesday, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz posted a video slamming the shutdown without directly assigning blame. "We're five plus weeks into the anxiety and stress of this government lapse and your non-pay," he told Coast Guard members, who work for the unfunded Department of Homeland Security. "You as members of the armed forces should not be expected to shoulder this burden," and while the "outpouring of support from local communities across the nation" has been heartening, "ultimately, I find it unacceptable that Coast Guard men and women have to rely on food pantries and donations to get through day-to-day life as service members."
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Schultz says this is the first time U.S. service members have not been paid during a shutdown, and he's telling Capitol Hill how unacceptable that is. The House has passed several bills to re-open the government and the Senate will consider two rival bills on Thursday.
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