US POLITICS: WASHINGTON- As US government shutdown drags on, its impact is spreading

WASHINGTON – From hotel to transport operators in Yellowstone National Park, to farmers in North Carolina waiting for market information and hurricane relief cheques, to the Washington DC Transport Safety Authority (TSA) employee who makes only US$40,000 (S$54,300) a year and is now working without pay, the United States federal government’s partial shutdown is beginning to pinch.

One contractual government worker, Julie Burr, has started a GoFundMe page, saying: “I’m losing pay every day that this government shutdown continues. I’ve taken on extra shifts at my second job but it isn’t going to pay rent and all my bills.