A restaurant owner in Washington, D.C., is pleading for politicians to “work together” in order to avoid a looming government shutdown.
The owner of Pete’s Diner, Gum Tong, reminded lawmakers that working together unites the country and brings the country “to a better place.” Tong, who has owned Pete’s Diner on Capitol Hill for nearly 20 years, is worried about the impact a government shutdown will have on her business.
“Work together, please,” Tong said during an interview with NBC4 Washington. “United and work together get our country to a better place so everybody willing to work can work and earn a living.”
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers in the D.C. area and local business owners are bracing for a government shutdown. https://t.co/YI0TxcPD3L
— NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington) September 29, 2023
A customer of Pete’s Diner, Helen Knowles, told the outlet that it seemed like it was “a small percentage of members of Congress” who either don’t care or “simply don’t understand” how the government shutdown will affect people’s lives.
The Senate had created a bipartisan plan in hopes of avoiding a potential government shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday that a draft bill had been produced that the House might possibly consider.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) went on to reject the Senate’s bipartisan spending bill — putting the two at odds in trying to find a solution.
The National Federation for Federal Employees, a union that represents federal workers, has predicted around 2.1 million civilian federal workers could see a delay in paychecks, while roughly 4 million federally contracted workers will not receive a paycheck, according to Politico.
Food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women Infants and Children (WIC) program are bracing themselves to see roughly 7 million pregnant and postpartum women, their infants and children lose access to WIC, according to the outlet.
National Parks, including campgrounds and museums, will also be closed during the government shutdown.
Additionally, roughly 1.3 million active-duty military members would not be paid but would be required to still work. Out of roughly 800,000 Pentagon workers, around 200,000 will be expected to work without pay.