Andersen has a tough, unglamorous job in customer service at a social security center. I’ve been to those shady government offices to get my social security card. I don’t think he gets paid nearly enough for the work he has to do.
She says it’s okay, relatively; His household receives another salary and uses coupons frequently. But the longer it lasts, the more difficult it becomes.
“I’m disappointed in us,” says Andersen. “When I say ‘we,’ I mean the United States. I’m very disappointed. People are running away from home to come here, and now there are people asking, ‘Where can we go to escape this wonderful land?’ “It’s ridiculous.”
A box of goods for federal workers suspended at a Capital Area Food Bank in Alexandria, Virginia.Credit: Bloomberg
From time to time, one of the volunteers guides the next 10 people in line to a booth where two women verify that each guest has a federal government ID. They can then move to a row of trestle tables to collect a box of fresh produce and a box of standard pantry items, as well as additional items from donations from a local farm.
There are breads and bagels, cookies and muffins, kale and cantaloupes, plus boxes of cheese, half and half (milk and cream), and probiotic drinks. There are a few lost packages of chicken thighs left. Organizers hoped to distribute food to 400 households in two hours.
The food bank is run by No Limits Outreach Ministries, a service for those in need. “I’m in a unique situation because my wife is actually a federal worker,” says Pastor Oliver Curtis. “So we’re helping because we need help.”
Curtis takes me to the old store where he runs his meager operation. Shelves that are normally full are running out of food, he says; They have had to suspend a regular Wednesday food bank for seniors.
Pastor Oliver Curtis of No Limits Outreach Ministries at a food bank in Landover, Maryland.Credit: Michael Koziol
“It’s a state of emergency because we don’t know when this will end. Usually we can call the federal government when a disaster happens. And now it’s like, ‘Who do we call?'”
Most food bank patrons don’t want to talk to the media; A woman frantically asks me to delete a video that could have captured her young son. Those who are happy to chat don’t want to have their photo taken.
I understand; Not a flattering position to be portrayed in. I also have the feeling that there is some nervousness; They are federal government workers, not normally allowed to speak to journalists, and likely aware of this administration’s sensitivity to criticism.
Republicans want a so-called “clean” resolution that would temporarily reopen the government. Democrats refuse to give that bill the more than 60 votes it needs in the Senate, demanding funding for health care programs that are about to expire.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is refusing to give in to Republican demands to pass a “clean” continuing resolution to temporarily reopen the government.Credit: AP
Perhaps marked by an episode earlier this year when he was criticized for not standing up to Trump, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is refusing to concede, even as the SNAP (food stamps) program is set to expire for 40 million Americans on November 1.
This week, the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union of federal and Washington DC government workers, drew a line in the sand. Its president, Everett Kelley, supported the Republican position and called for a clean bill to end the closure immediately.
“It’s time for our leaders to start focusing on how to solve the problems of the American people, rather than who is going to be to blame for a shutdown that Americans don’t like,” he wrote.
“Because when people who serve this country line up at food banks after missing a second paycheck due to this shutdown, they’re not looking for a partisan spin. They’re looking for the wages they earned. The fact that they’re getting ripped off is a national disgrace.”
Get a note directly from our foreigner correspondents about what’s making headlines around the world. Subscribe to our weekly What in the World newsletter.
