General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRoundtable hosted by newly elected U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, discusses pain of shutdown
As medical bills mount, so too does Martines stress level the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hydrologist was furloughed in December. Shes not sure if the federal governments shutdown is affecting her health insurance. She is covering copays for medical visits and medications without a paycheck. And in the last few weeks, shes had to cancel appointments for acupuncture treatments that help relieve nerve pain.
With the shutdown, I definitely dont have the money, Martine said. Whatever I have, I have to save for rent or food.
Martine was one of a handful of federal workers who spoke at a Saturday roundtable hosted by newly elected U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, a Democrat from Albuquerque, to discuss the impact the now three-week shutdown has had on New Mexicans.
Haaland told a small crowd at Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque that New Mexico, with 6,000 federal workers, is the second-most affected state in the nation.
I know what its like to live paycheck to paycheck, Haaland said. Sixty percent of Americans have only $500 in the bank that they can use as a slush fund which you know would never even pay one month of rent. So, its affecting us so drastically.
Haaland heard tales of a widespread ripple effect impacting not only federal employees but also local businesses and Native American tribes.
In the Pueblo of San Felipe, for example, tribal officials said the shutdown has frozen funds for programs. Tribal administrator Pinuu Stout said some homes on pueblo lands cant connect to the electric grid because service-line agreements have to go through shuttered federal agencies.
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Jeff Erway, president of La Cumbre Brewing Co. in Albuquerque, said thousands of dollars worth of beer his business planned to ship out of state is waiting for federal approval. At least eight applications are in limbo.
No one in this room should feel bad for me, Erway said. Who you should feel bad for are some of the employees who are quite possibly underemployed because of the shutdown.
Delivery drivers, servers, dishwashers and cooks are indirectly affected, Erway added, because so many federal employees have stopped eating at restaurants. Hes heard some businesses are down by 20 percent to 25 percent of their customer base.
Among the tales of woe and frustration, government officials and credit unions have offered a few solutions.
Former state Rep. Bill McCamley, the secretary-designate of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, told the audience that for 180 days, the state is allowing federal employees who are out of work to apply for unemployment benefits without the requirement that they look for employment because they are, in fact, employed.
Federal workers who receive back pay would have to repay the aid, McCamley said. For federal employees, what this basically ends up being is a no-interest loan to help you get through your time.
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/new-mexico-federal-workers-feel-pain-of-shutdown/article_0b7e2fc2-c25d-5c07-b1f9-86f1b1643acd.html
Incredibly proud of this new class, especially the women, doing the work of close listening and giving their constiuents their full attention.
It's the legacy of HRC.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,484 posts)We need work-arounds for this senseless trumpshutdown.
sheshe2
(83,953 posts)The pain and suffering of so many Americans at the hands of a madman is inhumane.
Thank you Deb Haaland for all that you are doing.
Gothmog
(145,666 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)afoul of a group of angry local Sanders supporters, the kind who never understood EITHER Hillary or Trump would be our next president. They tried to take her out for her apostasy (and of course the Republicans leaped in to help), *but she prevailed.*
And here she is.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)All hands on deck, baby!
ehrnst
(32,640 posts)She'll survive. She's no hothouse flower who has been told that everything she says is gospel.
That'll serve her well.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)taken at her swearing in as a member of the United States Congress.
Eliot Rosewater
(31,131 posts)murielm99
(30,777 posts)This lady should be getting exposure all over the country.
Love what she's doing
I posted about Ayanna Pressley last night. She is from MA. She took a second oath of office this past weekend in Roxbury, MA with her constituents to thank them for making her win possible.
She made it perfectly clear that she stands for them.
George II
(67,782 posts)....how to dig in and get the job done.
brer cat
(24,625 posts)...taking care of the people. She is going to be an outstanding Representative.
Cha
(297,799 posts)Mahalo, ehrnst