Page 9 - HOH

A2 U.S. NEWS
Friday 10 OctOber 2025
Troops will miss paychecks next week without action on the

government shutdown

By BEN FINLEY 88,000 active duty service
Associated Press members and their fami-
WASHINGTON (AP) — lies likely have pulled back
Heather Campbell lost her significantly on spending,
job working for a food bank said Rick Dwyer, executive
over the summer because director of the Hampton
of federal funding cuts. Her Roads Military and Federal
husband serves as an of- Facilities Alliance, an advo-
ficer in the Air Force, but cacy group.
now he's facing the pros- "Think about service mem-
pect of missing his next bers who are deployed
paycheck because of the right now around the
government shutdown. world," said Dwyer, who
If lawmakers in Washington served in the Air Force dur-
don't step in, Campbell's ing previous shutdowns.
husband won't get paid on "They're having to wonder
Wednesday. Because the if their families are going to
couple lacks the savings be able to pay the rent, the
to cover all their expens- child care bills, the car pay-
es, they expect to survive ments."
on credit cards to pay the A shutdown contingency
mortgage and feed their plan posted on the Penta-
three children, racking up gon's website cites the use
debt as the political stale- An Iwo Jima Memorial tribute statue is pictured near the entrance of Marine Base Quantico, Friday of funds to continue military
mate drags on. Sep. 26, 2025, in Quantico, Va. operations from Trump's big
"You're asking us to put our Associated Press tax and spending cut bill.
lives on the line or the peo- The Congressional Budget
ple we love to put their lives will happen." defense contractor and said her family was on a Office has said money ap-
on the line," said Campbell, "We'll take care of it," Trump volunteers as an advocate food aid program during propriated to the Defense
39, who lives outside Mont- said Wednesday. "Our mili- for military families. "A lot of the 2019 shutdown. But Department under the new
gomery, Alabama, near tary is always going to be these service members are even the Special Supple- law could be used to pay
Maxwell Air Force Base. taken care of." highly skilled and can go mental Nutrition Program active duty personnel.
"And you're not even going Rep. Jen Kiggans, a Virgin- out and make much more for Women, Infants and It was not clear if the fund-
to give us our paycheck. ia Republican and former money in the civilian sec- Children, also known as ing would be used for that.
What? There is a lot of bro- Navy helicopter pilot, has tor." WIC, which helps more The Pentagon said Thurs-
ken trust there." introduced a measure to Aid is available for ser- than 6 million low-income day that it could not pro-
The nation's third shut- maintain military and Coast vice members, but it's not mothers and young chil- vide information "at this
down in 12 years is once Guard salaries, and it has enough for some families dren, would run out of time."
again raising anxiety levels bipartisan co-sponsors. Support is available for mili- federal money within two Its contingency plan says it
among service members The House is closed for busi- tary families through non- weeks unless the shutdown will "continue to defend the
and their families because ness until next week, leav- profits and charities. For ends, experts say. nation and conduct ongo-
those in uniform are work- ing two days to take ac- example, some financial in- "We made so little and had ing military operations" as
ing without pay. While they tion before Wednesday's stitutions are offering zero- three young children," said well as activities "necessary
would receive back pay payday. Missed paychecks interest loans, while each Cluff, 42, of San Antonio. for the safety of human life
once the impasse ends, for military service mem- military branch has a relief "We were definitely a family and the protection of prop-
many military families live bers are among the most organization. that had very little buffer." erty."
paycheck to paycheck. serious pressure points in But Campbell said she and If Congress had not passed Listed among the highest
During previous shutdowns, the shutdown, causing po- her husband in Alabama legislation to pay troops priorities are securing the
Congress passed legisla- litical pain for the lawmak- can't apply for a payday during the last shutdown, U.S.-Mexico border, opera-
tion to ensure that troops ers. Several proposals have loan because they're refi- missing more than two pay- tions in the Middle East and
kept earning their salaries, been floated for voting nancing their house. They checks "would have been the future Golden Dome
but time is running out be- on stand-alone legislation lack a substantial emer- catastrophic for us," she missile defense program.
fore they miss their first pay- that would ensure no inter- gency fund because they said. The plan also noted that
check in less than a week. ruption in pay, but those were paying off student "Resentment can grow "child care activities re-
"There are so many things are not expected to be loans and moved several quickly," Cluff said of the quired for readiness" would
that Congress can't agree brought up for consider- times in the last few years shutdown, adding that "the continue.
on right now," said Kate Hor- ation, for now. to military posts. It was of- general public, and many Raleigh Smith Duttweiler,
rell, the wife of a Navy vet- Amanda Scott, whose hus- ten challenging for her to in government, truly don't chief impact officer for the
eran whose Washington, band is an Air Force officer find steady work and child understand the daily sacri- National Military Family As-
D.C., company provides in Colorado, said the un- care. fices our military members sociation, said most child
financial advice to military certainty goes beyond the "The opportunity to build up and their families make for development centers on
families. "I don't want to as- stress of just getting by — it savings is really difficult on our country." military bases are still oper-
sume that they're going to chips away at the military's just one income," Camp- Wider effects feared in mili- ating. But she said most ser-
be able to agree on this." ability to retain the best bell said. "I don't know tary-heavy areas vice members pay for child
Paying the troops has sup- people and their readiness many military families that The economic impact will care off base.
port, but it's unclear when a to fight. have a month's worth of in- ripple through regions with "Last I checked, my kids'
deal might pass "How ready and lethal are come set aside just in case, large military footprints, like babysitter doesn't take an
When asked if he would you if you don't know if let alone multiple months' coastal Virginia, home to IOU from the federal gov-
support a bill to pay the you can feed your family?" worth." the nation's largest Navy ernment," said Duttwei-
troops, President Donald said Scott, 33, of Colorado Jen Cluff, whose husband base and several other ler, whose husband is a
Trump said, "that probably Springs, who works for a recently left the Air Force, installations. The area's Marine.q