The clock is ticking towards a government shutdown. Lawmakers are running out of time to pass a spending bill.
The deadline is midnight on Friday, but as we get closer to the deadline, a shutdown seems more and more likely.
Congress rejected the latest spending plan, backed by newly elected President Donald Trump, and it was some Republicans who rejected it.
The last thing Aaron Barker wants to see is a government shutdown.
“We have to keep working even if the government closes its doors,” Barker said.
He is a leading TSA officer and the president of the local TSA union.
“A lot of officers live paycheck to paycheck, so you know, this is the holiday season. We’re supposed to be happy and joyful, and there’s something hanging over our heads,” Barker shared Channel 2’s Richard Elliot.
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Lawmakers are rushing to pass some kind of spending plan, a day after Congress rejected the plan by Trump and just days after Trump torpedoed a bipartisan effort.
It wasn’t just Democrats who opposed it; 38 Republicans rejected the proposal, including U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia.
“My constituents sent me to Congress to save our republic. To avoid exacerbating Washington’s budget deficit problem,” Clyde said in a statement.
But Republican U.S. Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia voted for it.
“American farmers need help now and our country does not need a costly government shutdown,” Scott said.
“This is what frustrates so many people in Washington DC,” said US Senator Raphael Warnock.
Warnock said he pushed to get the bipartisan bill passed but saw it fail.
He said issues like hurricane relief and aid for farmers in Georgia are at stake.
“Congress should not be going home to celebrate Christmas while being a grinch to struggling families in Valdosta and across Georgia,” Warnock said.
Barker told Elliot that it is frustrating for all of them.
“This is the holiday season. (Lawmakers’) pay will not be stopped. They still get paid,” Barker said.
Once a spending bill is finally passed, Barker and other federal workers will get their wages back, but until then, a shutdown means no paychecks at Christmas.
