Washington (CNN) 鈥 Atlanta mom Amanda James鈥 heart shattered when her soon-to-be 11-year-old uttered the words: 鈥淢om, I don鈥檛 have to have a birthday party this year.鈥
Her son knew both James, a Federal Aviation Administration airway transportation systems specialist and mother of four, and her husband, an air traffic controller, weren鈥檛 receiving paychecks during the government shutdown.
鈥淭hat absolutely broke my heart,鈥 James explained to CNN. 鈥(I told him), 鈥楾hat is not for you to worry about.鈥 I was like, 鈥楴o, whatever you want to do that day, that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e going to do.鈥 It hurt my feelings so bad that a coming 11-year-old was concerned about something he shouldn鈥檛 have to be concerned with.鈥
It鈥檚 one of the agonizing conversations playing out in the homes of many federal employees across the country as they wait for the government to finally reopen.
James is one of 5,000 workers maintaining FAA equipment, along with 14,000 air traffic controllers, who are all working without a paycheck. This week, a small group of Senate Democrats voted to that could The measure now advances to the House of Representatives.
In recent days, a record number of air traffic controllers took unscheduled time off causing a cascading effect of hourslong delays for travelers. At the same time, the FAA slashed flights at 40 US airports, so controllers who do show up could safely handle the traffic.
For James, who鈥檚 been at the FAA for over three years, when she saw news of a deal this week, she said, 鈥淚鈥檒l believe it whenever I see it done.鈥 James and her husband, a controller with the FAA for over 11 years, have been through shutdowns before, and have been saving in case another one should happen.
Navigating a crisis within aviation
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the loss of pay for essential FAA employees a 鈥渃risis within aviation鈥 as he spoke to reporters at Central Wisconsin Airport in Wausau, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
Across the country from the James family, another married set of FAA employees, both controllers, share the hope that the shutdown ends this week. All of the family鈥檚 extra income has been 鈥渄umped鈥 into a new home they are building for retirement. The couple, who wished to remain anonymous when discussing their jobs, are close to retirement age but not quite there yet.
They have saved some money, but at one point it seemed like the shutdown was going to go on forever.
鈥淭he worries of when it was going to end, because it didn鈥檛 look like there was any end in sight: we weren鈥檛 sure how that was going to pan out, but I don鈥檛 know,鈥 the controller told CNN. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not comforting.鈥
They worked every day of the shutdown they could, but did take some time off when they were simply too exhausted to work.
鈥淭he problem is with air traffic controllers, the American people feel that probably most acutely when they鈥檙e not paid,鈥 Duffy said. 鈥淎 lot of them have taken leave. They鈥檙e not coming into towers. That has created significant disruption throughout aviation.鈥
Duffy has said some controllers may be calling out in protest, while others could be working other jobs to support their family. Some simply get sick or become exhausted from the stress of not knowing when they will get paid.
鈥淲e are here to ensure that the flying public is safe and to continue maintaining those standards of safety,鈥 James said. 鈥淭he added stress of everything going on, you don鈥檛 want (that), and somebody who鈥檚 distracted mentally or emotionally or financially having to come to work.鈥
Compounding the unscheduled time off due to the shutdown, it鈥檚 also cold and flu season, James said, and many people in her Atlanta facility cannot work right now due to illness.
President Donald Trump demanded Monday all controllers 鈥済et back to work, NOW鈥 on Truth Social, recommending a bonus of $10,000 per controller who didn鈥檛 take time off during the shutdown.
But for the James family, they presumably won鈥檛 get bonuses since they did take time off when the family got sick.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to say we didn鈥檛 have to, but unfortunately, we both were sick and our kids got sick鈥 If we hadn鈥檛 actually been sick, we would have been at work,鈥 James said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 like calling out because that can increase the workload for others.鈥
Making tough decisions for family
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon at Chicago O鈥橦are International Airport, Duffy said air traffic controllers will get most of their back pay shortly after funding resumes.
鈥淚 mentioned I wanted air traffic controllers to come back to work,鈥 Duffy said. 鈥淪o to be clear, anywhere from 24 to 48 hours after the government opens, they are going to get 鈥 70% of their pay.鈥
The remaining 30% will come about a week later, he added.
鈥淚鈥檓 kind of banking (on the shutdown to end this week),鈥 the controller who wishes to remain anonymous said. 鈥淚 would have never thought in a million years 鈥 40 something days 鈥 that we would have gone like that. It鈥檚 not something that鈥檚 not in the back of my mind.鈥
The end to the shutdown can鈥檛 come soon enough for the James family either.
It has caused her to put off a medical procedure she needed. Her insurance only partially covers it, she said, and it would take away thousands of dollars they need to survive should the shutdown continue.
James and her husband, who met in the Army, are looking to foster a high school-aged girl, in addition to raising their four boys, and they won鈥檛 let the shutdown stop them from pursuing that. James is a licensed cosmetologist and said if the shutdown doesn鈥檛 wrap up this week, she鈥檚 going to talk to some salons to see what side work she can do on her days off.
The-CNN-Wire
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