Perry Hall Residents Brace for Looming Government Shutdown

Patty Miller hasn't forgotten the last government shutdown, when then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich and President Bill Clinton engaged in a 21-day budget standoff in December 1995.

"I remember being forced to work for no pay," said Miller, a Perry Hall resident and part-time worker for the Social Security Administration in Woodlawn.

For months, national lawmakers have attempted to negotiate a deal to avoid a similar government shutdown. If they fail, several federal programs, including the military and Social Security, could be left without funding starting midnight tonight.

Miller and other Perry Hall residents said they are bracing for the worst.

Miller's position in disability operations is deemed "essential personnel" by the federal government, which means she would still be expected to work—without pay.

"I'll still have to spend $50 a week in gas," she said.

In addition to higher fuel costs, her family already feels greater budget constraints than in 1995. Her work hours were cut near the start of the recession and she now supports her son at Temple University in Philadelphia.

"There's one more month of bills before he comes home—rent, food, lodging," Miller said. "I feel that [lawmakers] are too busy pointing fingers. Just get on with it."

The looming shutdown is similarly frustrating for Perry Hall residents who would be forced to stay home from work without pay.

Sara Fisher is a mother of four children, ranging in age from 2 to 16.

"My husband is a government contracted employee. He supports a family of six," she said in an email to Patch. "We are hoping this doesn't last long!"

About a dozen community members left similar comments on the Perry Hall Patch Facebook page.

"My husband is a contractor and won't get paid either," wrote Christine Sabatino Miller.

"It will effect me, I am a contractor at a government agency," wrote Tony Mariella.

"I hope come midnight, Saturday morn, I have a job!" wrote Danielle Schramm.

But Amethyst Danesie, a former Perry Hall resident, said that the shutdown may be hardest for members of the military and their families.

Danesie currently lives at Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina. Her fiance, Justin Albert, is a member of the U.S. Army and is scheduled to deploy to Iraq in three weeks.

"I think it's crazy that they're not paying them," said Danesie.

She said that a sign in Fort Bragg's commissary has already been posted, warning residents that the grocery store may close following a government shutdown.

"If they don't get paid, they can't spend money at the stores," Danesie said.