Coast Guard families told to have garage sales to cope with shutdown
Employees of the U.S. Coast Guard who are facing a long U.S. government shutdown just received a suggestion: To get by without pay, consider holding a garage sale, babysitting or serving as a “mystery shopper.”
The suggestions were part of a five-page tip sheet published by the Coast Guard Support Program, an employee-assistance arm of the service, known as CG SUPRT. It is designated to offer Coast Guard members help with mental-health issues or other concerns, including financial wellness. The Coast Guard receives funding from the Department of Homeland Security, and is subjected to the shuttering of parts of the government along with DHS’s other agencies. That stands in contrast to other military services, which are part of the Defense Department and have funding.
The tip sheet, titled “Managing your finances during a furlough,” applies to the Coast Guard’s 8,500-person civilian workforce. About 6,400 of them are on indefinite furlough, while 2,100 are working without pay after being identified as essential workers, said Lt. Cmdr. Scott McBride, a service spokesperson. They were last paid for the two-week period ending Dec. 22.
“While it may be uncomfortable to deal with the hard facts, it’s best to avoid the ‘hide your head in the sand’ reaction,” the tip sheet said. “Stay in charge of the situation by getting a clear understanding of what’s happening.”
The Coast Guard removed the tip sheet from the support program’s website late Wednesday morning after the Washington Post inquired about it. The suggestions do not “reflect the Coast Guard’s current efforts to support our workforce during this lapse in appropriations,” said McBride. “As such, this guidance has been removed.”
The situation shows the increasing strain that the service is under as the partial government shutdown continues. About 41,000 active-duty Coast Guards members are working without pay. Their next check is due Jan. 15. Overall, about 420,000 government employ- ees are working under the promise they will be paid retroactively, with nearly another 350,000 on furlough at home.
The Coast Guard’s status as an unfunded military service increasingly has become a political issue, as family members share their worries about a shutdown with no end in sight amid a political dispute about President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall. Coast Guardsmen rely not only on paychecks, but also now-frozen government housing allowances in order to afford housing in expensive coastal cities where many are assigned.
Late last month, the Coast Guard announced that it had found enough money to pay its service members one last time through the end of the year. The Trump administration took credit afterward, releasing a statement that said the president and some of his staff members had worked “round the clock” to address the issue.
Coast Guard leaders have sought to provide as much information as possible, and offer suggestions for where financial assistance might be possible.