Trump Backs Deal To Reopen Government For 3 Weeks, Allows Federal Workers To Receive Pay
(CBSDFW.COM) - President Donald Trump has announced a short-term deal to reopen the government as the shutdown went into its 35th day.
The government shut down back in December as the president pushed for funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to increase border security.
Trump announced the deal would end the shutdown for three weeks in order for federal workers to receive their back-pay.
During the shutdown, federal workers were without pay and unable to work. However, workers like those in the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) were forced to work during the shutdown without knowing when their next paycheck would be.
The shutdown was felt in North Texas as furloughed workers turned to food banks to provide for their families.
As recently as Friday morning, food banks met in Mansfield to hold an emergency meeting to figure out how pantries would provide for what they call "a major strain on resources."
Air traffic controllers in North Texas were also feeling the effects of the shutdown as they are being forced to work without pay. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association warned on Thursday that flights would soon be grounded if the shutdown continued into the next week.
The president of the Fort Worth chapter of the association told CBS 11 that controllers in charge of preventing collisions in midair and on runways are not operating at 100 percent. He said said one air traffic controller at DFW Airport and two other at Addison Airport have already resigned.