Military moms call possible government shutdown unacceptable
"Washington needs to wake up," military mother Carol Dion says.
Federal lawmakers have until Friday to decide on spending cuts or a government shutdown is likely.Military personnel wouldn't get paychecks until government operations resumed. The last time a shutdown occurred was in 1995. It lasted 21 days.
Dion's daughter, U.S. Army SSG Melissa Dion, is currently serving in Korea. She has also been twice deployed to Iraq. Melissa has saved during her 17 years in the army, her mom says. So even though she's a single mother, a stop on paychecks might not affect her.
"She has enough savings, and since she is Korea and her son is with us in Myrtle Beach, she has no living expenses." Carol says. "But her car loan payment comes out of her pay, so she would need to transfer some money to cover that."
Many others are not so lucky, Carol adds.
"If she were in the States with rent or mortgage payments and utilities to pay, gas and groceries, it would be a different story. For those deployed with wives and families in the States on their own, this could be devastating. Where do they turn?"
The Veteran's Resource Center in Little River has said they'll take on the responsibility of helping out a family that may be stuck if paychecks are stopped.
"We have women of veteran's families, and they're serving in Afghanistan. You know, they have to get food for the kids," director Kris Tourtellotte says.
For more information on the Veteran's Resource Center is open Monday thru Thursday from 8:00am to 4:00pm and Friday 8:00am to 2:00pm.
