JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — If Congress fails to reach a spending agreement by midnight Sunday the government will shut down, potentially leaving millions of federal workers, including active-duty military members without a paycheck.
Members of Congress are scrambling to strike a spending deal before the midnight deadline.
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For the 25,000 active-duty military members here in Northeast Florida, any prolonged shutdown could mean a missed paycheck as early as October 10th -- a scenario US Representative and former Green Beret Mike Waltz (R-FL 6th District) calls unacceptable.
“The last people that should be impacted are the families of our military members,” Waltz said.
However, in the event of a shutdown there are relief options available for military members.
“Missing a paycheck for some, think about somebody newly enlisted in their 20′s, paycheck to paycheck potentially, right?” said Mark Pregmon, Head of Credit Operations at USAA.
Pregmon told Action News Jax should the government shutdown, the company will be offering one-time zero-interest loans up to $6,000 to cover lost paychecks starting October 6.
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The company is also offering payment deferrals on credit cards and insurance policies for impacted service members.
“We’ll know who the impacted populations are and we will actually send them like an invitation. Here, you have this option available, and then here’s other tools,” Pregmon said.
Other military-linked companies like Navy Federal Credit Union are offering similar forms of assistance, but Waltz is optimistic those measures won’t be necessary.
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He hopes Congress will agree to temporarily fund the military before the shutdown deadline, while details on other parts of the spending plan are hammered out.
“Congress did the same thing in 2013, the last time we had a major shutdown. And so, I’ll be fighting, I’m a cosponsor of that bill. First and foremost, we have to take care of those that are out there protecting us,” Waltz said.
Should those loans become necessary, USAA says service members will have 60 days before the first payments are due, hopefully giving time for the government to reopen and for backpay to come through.
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