Soldiers’ Angels is among the many organizations working to provide relief for impacted individuals and families.
SAN ANTONIO — As the federal government shutdown stretches into the foreseeable future, San Antonio’s massive military community is preparing for financial strain while nonprofits and businesses step in to provide relief.
Soldiers’ Angels is among the organizations stepping up to assist families living in uncertainty. The nonprofit’s president and CEO Amy Palmer said the organization has received emails from concerned residents about what resources are available in light of the government shutdown. Soldiers’ Angels, which assists service members and veterans, has been preparing for the long haul, organizing a food pantry and promoting on social media the type of assistance people can access.
“We are working on setting up a pantry here in our building. We were actually planning to do that anyway, but this kind of pushed that process forward a little bit, faster for us to get that going, assuming that families are going to need food assistance,” Palmer said. “In the case of food, getting food from us now may help them save a little money to prepare to pay rent or utility bills or something incase they do go without a paycheck.”
Palmer is reminded of the 35-shutdown of 2018-2019 and how Soliders’ Angels responded during that period. This marked the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, surpassing the the 21-day shutdown that took place in 1995-1996.
“We did some financial assistance then of gift cards and other things for families to get by to help them during that time, but also that’s part of the reason we knew we needed a pantry versus the food distribution that only happens once a month,” Palmer said.
The shutdown began just after midnight on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass a funding measure or even a short-term continuing resolution. Deep partisan disagreements over spending priorities derailed proposals from both parties, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed and many more working without pay. Essential services like Social Security, Medicare, national defense, and air traffic control continue operating, but other agencies have been forced to partially or fully suspend programs. Economists warn the prolonged standoff could cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars each week.
The impact is already being felt in military communities like San Antonio, where more than 8,000 people work at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) alone. Because of the critical nature of their missions, most personnel are expected to remain on the job, but they won’t see paychecks until the government reopens. BAMC’s Robert Whetstone emailed this statement:
“Due to our critical healthcare mission, Brooke Army Medical Center, to include our Level I trauma mission, will remain open for patient care. During a government shutdown, certain functions continue in the absence of funding, including some activities involving the safety of human life or the protection of property; medical and dental care; acquisition and logistical support; education and training; legal; and financial management; among others. While healthcare services will continue, there may be some delays in non-essential administrative services.
Military members and Public Health Service personnel are deemed “excepted,” meaning they continue to work through a furlough. Additionally, some federal civilian employees will be deemed excepted due to their involvement in medical and dental care. Federal civilian employees, such as some administrative functions, who are not considered excepted will be furloughed. Most contract personnel will continue to work as normal pending contractor guidance.
Approximately 8,500 military, government civilians and contractors are employed at BAMC and our outlying clinics. While we don’t have an exact number at this time, we anticipate most personnel will be “excepted” due to our critical 24/7 healthcare mission.”
BAMC performs roughly 13,500 surgical cases at annually, with a daily inpatient load of 240 and 3,000 outpatient visits.
BAMC is proud of all of our staff and the role we serve in the San Antonio community and consider it a tremendous privilege to care for over 250,000 military beneficiaries.”
Officials noted in an email that Joint Base San Antonio remains operational despite funding uncertainties and is providing support service such as financial aid, counseling and housing assistance to affected civilian employees. Once funding is approved, employees will receive retroactive pay for any unpaid work or furlough time.
“Despite the impact of the lapse of appropriations, our commitment to installation excellence remains unwavered. We continue to fortify JBSA as a bastion of operational resilience to ensure mission continuity,” said USAF Lt. Col. “Misty” White, direct, 502d Air Base Wing Public Affairs.
Jon Taylor, political scientist with UT San Antonio, also reflected on the 2018-2019 government shutdown and the financial detriment it imposed on federal workers nationwide.
“It really hurt people. You’re talking about people who are now missing mortgages, missing payments for cars,” Taylor said. “Yeah, eventually you get the pay back, but by that point the damage has been done.”
As for the future, Taylor believes the current government shutdown could last weeks. He pointed to a law passed in 1974 that requires Congress to finish the budget process by the start of the fiscal year.
“Well, here we are yet again with them not following their own law,” he said.
For now, military families, local nonprofits, and federal employees are left in limbo, waiting as lawmakers in Washington remain deadlocked.
USAA, the Air Force Aid Society and Operation Home Front are some of the additional support resources offering assistance amid the shutdown.