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The ongoing government shutdown has impacted approximately 1.5 million federal workers, who have gone a month and counting without a paycheck. Maggie Sabatino has worked as a Transportation Security Administration agent at Philadelphia International Airport for the last 13 years and is the executive vice president of the union chapter Local 333, which represents TSA airport employees in Philadelphia. Just like the other federal workers affected by the government shutdown and working without pay, Sabatino -- who has an 8-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son with autism -- said she is struggling to meet her basic needs. "You try to put the smile on your face and make sure your family doesn’t know what you’re really going through, but at the end of the day, it’s a lot to take in," Sabatino said. "It’s a lot on your mental; it’s a lot on your anxiety." Sabatino said she was last paid on Oct. 11, but it was a small portion of her normal paycheck. “Full tax has come out of that three-day's worth of pay, and by the time it's done, you're receiving $104,” she said. “That's not a paycheck that's supposed to carry you over through a shutdown.” Sabatino said her bank account now holds a negative balance, and she said she can no longer pay for health insurance. Her son, who is autistic, has less than two weeks of medication left. She said she doesn’t know how she will afford the prescription without insurance. Sabatino, along with millions of other federal workers, has been experiencing uncertainty since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1. Democrats said they will not vote on a short-term funding bill that doesn't address the issue of extending the Affordable Care Act health care subsidies, and Republicans have said they won't address the issue without Democrats first voting on a bill to reopen the government. "It’s frustrating to know that to both parties, to this administration, that this is okay to do to the American people," Sabatino said. "The people that you are sworn an oath to protect and do the best by. And this is the best? It’s the complete opposite. It’s devastating." She said Christmas fast approaching is only compounding her family’s financial problems. “We're right around the corner from the holidays. And usually, this is the time people start Christmas shopping and getting all their stuff and hiding it away,” Sabatino said. “That's not happening this year. And they have a list they want to send. A list to Santa. How do you sit there and hear them talking about that and know that this year you may not be able to pull that off? It's heartbreaking.”
