DAYTON — The Senate has passed a plan to reopen the government through January, providing funding for various federal programs.
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The plan includes funding for military construction, veterans affairs, and SNAP benefits through September, as well as back pay for federal workers. However, it doesn’t extend expiring Obamacare subsidies.
Thousands of civilian workers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are currently furloughed, awaiting the chance to return to work and receive back pay, just like those hoping to have their federal benefits restored.
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“Yeah, it impacts everyone because there’s the uncertainty when they are going to get their money just to live their normal life,” Joe Abboud, owner of Stop-N-Save Foods in downtown Dayton, said.
Abboud said more than 10 percent of their customers rely on SNAP/EBT to help buy food there.
“You want to eat, you want to move on, and just everything’s up in the air, and that could be a frustration,” he said.
Abboud told News Center 7 that if his customers cut back on what they can buy, it hurts him too. He’s also tired of seeing workers furloughed, travel plans in jeopardy because air traffic controllers aren’t being paid, and people worried about whether they’ll be able to buy the food they need.
“People are out of work, people are not getting paid who are working, people who need their benefits are not receiving their benefits; this is really a travesty,” said Congressman Mike Turner.
Turner told News Center 7 that the House of Representatives did its job and approved a spending bill, but the Senate never came to an agreement.
The deadlock and shutdown forced some Head Start centers in Ohio to close. The one in Dayton needs an agreement to avoid having to do the same thing.
Turner said it’s time for all sides to use common sense.
“This has been really a hardship on a lot of families, and this has been unnecessary, and we certainly hope that they move this forward,” Turner said.
Turner also told News Center 7 that when the Senate finally approves a plan to reopen the government, it would come back to the House of Representatives, where he believes it would be approved, allowing federal benefits to be restored and federal workers to get paid.
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