Now unless Republicans in Congress do something about it, this Saturday night, at one minute

past midnight the federal government will shut down.

And while the House Freedom Caucus is making radical demands and treating this all like a political

stunt, that Saturday night deadline is very real in terms of the harm it could cause for hundreds

of thousands of Americans. Now I am old enough to remember the

last time the government shut down because Republicans wanted something

ridiculous. It was right around Christmas of 2018. The federal government shut down because President Trump demanded

funding for a border wall that he never ended up finishing. And on Capitol Hill

it was a spectacle. But for 800,000 government workers, these antics meant 35 days without a paycheck.

The New Life Worship Center in Capitol Heights is opening its doors to furloughed workers,

providing donated food from grocery stores and church members.

I'm with Department of Commerce and it, yeah, four weeks. No check.

Many of the folks in this line have worked for the federal government for decades.

30 something years, and don't know what it's like to go without a check.

That's how Nicole feels. I think I cry like every day.

And this mom who works for the IRS.

I have two sons and they know and I'm like mommy's going to stay in line today for food, you know?

Never thought you'd be here.

And this time around there are literally thousands of government workers who if Republicans in Congress refused to

fund the government by the end of this week who will face

potentially devastating financial situations just like that.

Yesterday ABC News interviewed a cafeteria worker at the Library of Congress, a

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