TSA officers speak out as government shutdown drags on: "We are literally drowning in silence"

As the latest federal government shutdown stretches into its third week, Transportation Security Administration officers across the country say the financial and emotional toll is mounting.

The current partial shutdown is the third in six months, and while TSA officers are considered essential federal employees required to report to work, many are not receiving paychecks.

Some say they are still recovering from the financial damage caused by the two previous shutdowns.

Now, a growing number of officers are quietly speaking out despite strict rules that prohibit TSA employees from talking to journalists without permission from the Department of Homeland Security.

A former TSA officer turned writer, Caleb Harmon-Marshall, who publishes the travel newsletter GATE ACCESS, says he has heard from more than a dozen officers who describe what he calls "a federal crisis hiding in plain sight."

Harmon-Marshall interviewed 17 TSA officers at nearly a dozen airports across the country, all of whom asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.  Portions of those interviews were published by Yahoo Creators, today.

"I was a former TSA officer, so I know what they're going through," Harmon-Marshall told CBS News Atlanta. "They are feeling at a crossroads because for many of these officers, this is their career."

One officer who spoke with CBS News Atlanta exclusively described the constant financial uncertainty that comes with repeated shutdowns.

"Our kids, our families, houses — everything is at stake at this moment," the officer said.  "We are literally drowning in silence, and the world doesn't even know it."

For many TSA workers, the stress doesn't end when they leave the checkpoint.

"It's like a lose-lose battle," the officer said. "I can go to work and be stressed out about what I'm receiving at work, or the backlash from passengers or leadership. Then I come home and I'm stressed about an eviction notice or a utility shutoff. I'm losing whether I'm at work or at home."

Other officers shared similar experiences with Harmon-Marshall.

One single mother said the repeated shutdowns have taken a devastating toll on her mental health.

"TSO's [Transportation Security Officers] are drowning," she wrote in a message shared with Harmon-Marshall.  "My mental health is shot.  Yet still being expected to go to work every day and smile in passengers' faces like I'm not ready to just off myself."

Another officer who was living in New York during the September 11 attacks said her decision to join TSA was rooted in that experience.

But now she questions why the workers responsible for protecting the nation's airports feel abandoned.

"Why are we being sacrificed?" she said. "What did we do to deserve telling our families we might get evicted at the end of the month? Don't forget us. We are still people."

Even basic assistance programs can be difficult to access.

One TSA officer told Harmon-Marshall that when she applied for food assistance, she was told she earned too much money to qualify, despite currently receiving no paycheck.

"When you reach out to your local resources, they say you make too much for food assistance even though we aren't receiving paychecks," the officer said.  "It's disheartening and disgusting."

Harmon-Marshall says the combination of financial pressure, workplace stress, and public misunderstanding is pushing some officers to a breaking point.

"Because they're not being paid and because they do not feel wanted or needed, they feel like something that could just be thrown away," he said.

For many TSA agents, the shutdown means continuing to work while struggling to maintain their own households.

"I have childcare. I have my children and extracurricular activities, sports. I have bills, rent, utilities," one agent said. "I provide this living for myself and my kids, and I can't maintain it at this moment.  It's like there's no end in sight."

On Thursday, the Senate failed to advance a measure that would fund the agency in a 51 to 46 vote. It was the fourth time the Senate has failed to pass a DHS funding bill this year.