Travel Delays Houston

The acting head of the Transportation Security Administration says it may have to shut down operations at some airports if the budget impasse drags on as travelers are experiencing record waiting times. In testimony Wednesday before a House committee, Ha Nguyen McNeill described the mounting hardships facing unpaid airport workers. Bills and eviction notices are piling up, and some workers are resorting to plasma donations to make ends meet. Her appearance on Capitol Hill comes as the latest offer to end a funding impasse and put restraints on President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda is running into fierce resistance. But there appears to be no end in sight on the 40th day of the stalemate involving the Department of Homeland Security.

Tens of thousands Transportation Security Administration officers are set to receive another $0 paycheck this week. A dispute in Congress over funding the Department of Homeland Security has held up their salaries since mid-February. With monthly bills coming due, many of these federal employees are making difficult choices about how to make ends meet while continuing to screen passengers and luggage at airports across the U.S. In Indianapolis, a TSA officer has turned to a local food bank. A married couple in Florida is worried about providing for their family while the DHS shutdown holds up both their incomes. A father of three in Utah quit his TSA job to find one that pays.