STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Many federal workers are already furloughed, and the Congressional Budget Office says more may be as the shutdown goes on, eventually totaling 750,000 people.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
One employee at risk is Mark Cochran. He is a tractor driver and arborist at Gettysburg National Military Park. He's also a union rep. He represents National Park Service employees in the northeast as president of AFGE Council 270.
MARK COCHRAN: My daughters just started college. You know, the whole hopes of, oh, I have a vacation, you know, that's gone out the window because pretty much any extra money I may have is going towards her education. You know, I'll try and see if I can find some side work to bring some cash in.
MARTIN: He has spent more than a decade working for the park service. And he says he could get paid more in the private sector, but he likes working at Gettysburg.
COCHRAN: I mean, even when I'm out working in the rain and it's cold and miserable, just the thought of the sacrifices that were made at that spot really helps get you through.
INSKEEP: It is a beautiful spot. Now let's hear from a legislative intern on Capitol Hill. We're using her first name only because in this political climate, she fears for her safety. Ashley (ph) started working for the government last month and now is on leave without pay.
ASHLEY: It's very difficult being here in D.C. and not knowing how long this is going to last, how long I'm going to be living without getting a paycheck.
INSKEEP: Which makes her rethink her interest in government work.
ASHLEY: I didn't realize how truly deep the political lines really are even on Capitol Hill. I don't think the public sector is honestly a very stable place for someone to start their professional career at the moment.
MARTIN: Longtime federal workers like Chris Jennison also experienced the 35-day-long shutdown in 2019.
CHRIS JENNISON: We were actually expecting our first child at the time. My wife was pretty pregnant. We were newer feds. We had less salary, we had less savings, we had less stability.
MARTIN: This time, with no baby on the way, there's less stress. As an employment lawyer with the Federal Aviation Administration, he's also used to negotiating.
JENNISON: The fact that our representatives can't do that and find a solution and instead are punishing everyone who's a public servant and the public at large is really, really frustrating.
INSKEEP: Under a 2019 federal law, furloughed federal workers are guaranteed back pay once politicians reach a funding deal. However, the Trump administration has also threatened to fire federal workers as one of its ways of punishing Democrats. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.