Hays County and the surrounding areas are starting to feel the weight of the longest federal government shutdown in American history – now officially in its 30th day, as the dispute between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats over funding for a wall on the Mexican border continues.
Nationally, the shutdown has left approximately 800,000 federal workers without pay – many of those workers received their first $0 paycheck last Friday – and around 420,000 workers are on the job but receiving no pay, while another 380,000 are furloughed, meaning they are on forced unpaid leave.
The Austin/San Antonio Weather Forecast Office in New Braunfels, which is the closest to San Marcos, currently has 25 employees that are working without pay, because of their “excepted” status.
