National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy took to social media Sunday to emphasize the growing strain placed on federal employees as they continue to work without pay during the government shutdown.
“Our employees are dedicated, 100% committed to safety, but the shutdown is a significant strain on their families, as well as morale,” Homendy wrote on X. “Recent surveys show that 57-69% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Backpay doesn’t pay the rent/mortgage right now. Backpay doesn’t pay childcare right now. Backpay doesn’t put food on the dinner table right now.”
She also appealed to her followers to assist in identifying “resources” that could be of use to affected NTSB staff.
“Because our employees can’t use government equipment during the shutdown and many follow my social media, I’ll be adding links to resources in this thread all week,” she posted. “Please add any you are aware of.”
The federal government has been shut down since October 1. Some federal employees have been furloughed, but others deemed essential, including NTSB investigators, FAA air traffic controllers (ATCs), and TSA agents, must continue to work even though they are not being paid.
No End in Sight
Late last week, essential federal workers across the country missed their first full pay check.
At the start of the shutdown, the NTSB said it would furlough about 100 employees and narrow its focus to core responsibilities. The agency will continue to respond to transportation-related accident scenes to gather evidence and carry out investigations, and it will keep investigating past incidents and work to deliver probable cause findings and other recommendations.
All other activities, however, will be curtailed, officials said.
The NTSB is investigating several high-profile accidents, including the collision of an American Airlines passenger jet with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C., in January and the container ship Dali’s 2024 strike of the Francis Scott Key Bridge near Baltimore, which caused the bridge to collapse into the lower Patapsco River.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress appear no closer to a deal to end the shutdown than they were weeks ago. The 13th vote aimed at reopening the government will likely be held this week.
