During the last government shutdown in 2019, Coast Guard personnel didn’t receive paychecks for the full 35 days. This time, servicemembers were paid through the first month of the shutdown, through October.
“The paychecks came through somehow because they found the money somewhere,” said Hannah Mitchell, a Coast Guard spouse.
She paints faces at community events from time to time, but her husband’s pay makes up nearly all of their income.
She says the October checks were a huge relief. But U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says service members should not expect to be paid in mid-November if the shutdown continues.
“At that point, you’re like ‘Oh my God, what do I do?’” Mitchel told KMXT. When asked, she responded “Pray, for one. And then two, like honestly at that point you do have to start reaching out to people like we have our families, and not everybody has families like we have.”
When reached, Alaska-based Coast Guard officials redirected requests for comment to headquarters. Headquarters did not respond to an email.
Unpaid federal workers as well as reduced SNAP benefits have driven many Kodiak nonprofits to provide more support for folks in need.
Mitchell says the community has been providing some relief through the chapel on base.
“There were a bunch of people in the community who donated food,” she said.
Others across the state and the country have also been providing programs to support military servicemembers during the shutdown. Coast Guard Mutual Assistance and the United Services Automobile Association, or USAA, offer no-interest loans, with other programs available through the Coast Guard Foundation.
Mitchell says she’s had jobs in the past, including during the previous shutdown, but with two young kids, she wants to spend more time with them.
“Would it be nice to have the extra money? Absolutely, but I want to be able to get my children off the bus when they come home from school and be able to take them to their activities,” she said.
Maddie Schwarz, another Coast Guard spouse and a veteran herself, has a kid too, but chose to have a job. That income helps pay her family’s expenses, but it’s not an ideal situation for her either.
“It continues to be very last minute in terms of when people are finding out, when members are finding out if they’re going to receive pay or not,” she said. “And it’s just a lot of uncertainty and a lot of stress that is being added to everybody’s everyday life.”
Even with extra support, Schwarz says it’s difficult not knowing if her husband will get paid or not.
“Bills are still coming, rent is still due, food still needs to be purchased,” she said. “Other bills and car payments and things like that are all still due.”
The federal government is currently in the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
Democrats and Republicans blame each other. It’s unknown when Congress will overcome the stalemate and reopen the government.
