How Michigan could have been impacted by a federal government shutdown
(CBS DETROIT) - House Republicans went back to the drawing board Friday morning to approve new spending while trying to avoid a U.S. government shutdown.
Dozens of Republicans voted against the measure on Thursday night, while only two Democrats voted in favor.
On Friday, the House voted to avoid the shutdowns before the midnight deadline and approve tens of billions of dollars in disaster relief.
How would the looming government shutdown have affected federal workers? Based on past government estimates, around 3.5 million federal workers would've gone without paychecks this holiday season until an agreement is passed. That includes airport security workers like the Transportation Security Administration. Many would still be required to show up to work without collecting a paycheck while others could have been told to stay home and not work at all.
"We should never shut down the government. It is unacceptable to me. That's just a basic core function of Congress. Our TSA folks at the airport, everybody is traveling during the holidays," U.S. Sen. Gary Peters told CBS News Detroit before the vote. "They will have staffing issues, some that are deemed essential will continue to work, but it's important to remember when they're working to keep us safe as we travel this holiday season, they will not be getting paid, and that's simply unacceptable."
Passport offices would have been affected, though not immediately. Processing would significantly slow down.
CBS News Detroit spoke with one family earlier Friday who plans to travel to Africa next month but needs a passport for their son. Fortunately, they were able to expedite the process on Friday, but had they waited to get that passport when a government shutdown occurred, it would have been a challenge for their travels.
"For passports, especially us starting late to get passport for him, if there were to be a government shutdown that can significantly affect it, and we already booked our flight and so it would make it very difficult," said Getenet Timmermans.
