The longer that this government shutdown continues, the more it starts to hurt people around the nation. Being the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, how has this started to impact those funded through the Defense Department?
Military
At the beginning of the government shutdown, the Trump administration reallocated $8 billion to continue paying military paychecks. As of Oct. 31, however, the military wasn’t paid. This means that about 1.3 million active-duty personnel and over 750,000 National Guard members are expected to work without pay.
Upon speaking to Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Zach Thomas of the U.S. Navy, he commented, “With the military, for the most part, day-to-day operations [are] going to continue regardless; they can work with a type of credit system. When you come to work, you don’t necessarily notice a difference.”
When it came to the most critical impacts, LCDR Thomas said that “The biggest issue is the young enlisted who don’t make very much money, already living paycheck to paycheck. They’re in significant financial hardship at this time, struggling to get food, gas, rent, etc. The normal operational flow at work isn’t experiencing the same hardships that people outside of the workplace are.”
U.S. soldiers stationed in Germany are being advised by the government to find other ways to make ends meet. The government has posted on its website suggesting local food banks, emergency loans, social benefits, and other ways to help make ends meet.
Military Families
President Trump announced that the government was able to send out paychecks to the military on Oct. 15, where Trump said that the Pentagon would use the $8 billion it had designated for research and development funds. Another $130 million was anonymously donated to assist in funding military families, but there have been legal concerns about this money.
Before the shutdown even began, 1 in 6 families of active-duty service members were already struggling with problems related to food insecurity. One-third have less than $3,000 in savings.
This reality makes military families especially vulnerable during events like the government shutdown.
Many military families rely on one paycheck due to the amount of relocations required for the job, and for families who have other financial responsibilities like sick or disabled children, missing just one paycheck can be detrimental.
Military families are some of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to government shutdowns. The longer this continues, the worse the impacts will be on these families, who can very easily become political pawns for the budget passage.
Defense Contractors
Defense contracting is where private businesses can be offered government funding to develop weapons or technology for the federal government, while still being a private organization. The Department of Defense (DOD) spends billions on different defense contracts every year.
The DOD said that of their over 700,000 employees, about 400,000 would be exempted from the shutdown due to their funding not coming from annual appropriations.
Contracts awarded before funding can continue unless they require government facilities, personnel, or resources. New contracts aren’t allowed to be awarded to companies.
The Trump administration has already had to cancel $20 billion in contracts throughout the time of this shutdown. There was already uncertainty when it came to contracting jobs due to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) policies, job cuts, funding cuts, and more.
Government contractors are in a state of uncertainty when it comes to future funds. While large businesses don’t have to worry as much about whether they’ll continue to be funded, especially those that have developed critical military technology, small businesses do.
In Conclusion
The government shutdown has had major impacts on many different entities of the DOD, and without a budget resolution, the financial difficulties and anxieties will only continue to grow.
These are real people who work for the DOD, and they’re facing very real problems. We can only hope that this shutdown will end soon, and these people will have access to pay again quickly.
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