By Jason Stverak
As Congress approaches the Jan. 30 government funding deadline, military families are once again preparing for uncertainty.
Under current law, a government shutdown requires servicemembers to continue reporting for duty, deploying, and carrying out missions, even as their pay may be delayed. Members of Congress, by contrast, continue to receive compensation. This disparity has real consequences for morale, readiness, and the well-being of military families.
Credit unions that serve military communities have seen this cycle before, and early indicators suggest familiar challenges ahead.
If federal funding lapses, more than 1.3 million active-duty servicemembers could experience delayed pay within days. For many families, even a single missed paycheck can create hardship. Nearly half of active-duty servicemembers report difficulty covering monthly expenses, and food insecurity remains a concern for a portion of the force. Junior enlisted families, in particular, often have limited financial flexibility to absorb sudden income disruptions.
Credit unions frequently observe the human impact first.
Member Inquiries Increase
As shutdown deadlines approach, member inquiries increase. Servicemembers and their families ask whether pay will arrive on time, whether loan payments can be deferred, or how to manage essential expenses if deposits are interrupted. The uncertainty affects not only those in uniform, but also spouses and children who rely on that income. In total, nearly 2.8 million Americans, servicemembers and their families, could feel the immediate effects of a funding lapse.
Recent history points to the consequences of prolonged uncertainty.
During the 2018–2019 government shutdown, approximately 42,000 Coast Guard members went unpaid for more than a month because the service is funded through the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Department of Defense. Credit unions reported families struggling to cover basic needs, with some turning to food pantries or delaying medical care. Coast Guard leadership at the time publicly described the situation as unacceptable, yet the underlying funding vulnerability remains.
The effects of shutdowns extend beyond household finances.
Credit unions hear directly from members about increased stress, distraction, and declining morale. Financial strain can follow servicemembers into training, operations, and deployments. Funding lapses have also led to canceled Guard and Reserve drill weekends, disrupting readiness and unit cohesion. These outcomes have been observed repeatedly during past shutdowns.
Financial First Responders
When pay disruptions occur, credit unions often act as financial first responders. During previous and recent shutdowns, credit unions offered emergency paycheck advances, zero-interest loans, fee waivers, payment deferrals, and financial counseling. Some advanced military pay is based on anticipated government deposits, helping families maintain housing, utilities, and credit stability. While these efforts provide critical short-term relief, credit unions consistently emphasize that such measures are temporary and cannot replace the certainty of timely pay.
The recurring nature of shutdown-related pay disruptions raises a broader policy question: While there is bipartisan agreement that servicemembers should be paid regardless of funding lapses, why do existing protections remain temporary?
Legislation such as the Pay Our Troops Act and the Pay Our Coast Guard Parity Act would establish permanent safeguards to ensure uninterrupted pay for active-duty servicemembers, Guard and Reserve personnel, and essential civilian employees during any shutdown. Enacting these policies would remove military pay from the uncertainty of budget negotiations.
Financial readiness is closely tied to military readiness. When servicemembers are concerned about meeting basic financial obligations, the impact extends to focus, morale, and overall readiness.
With the Jan. 30 deadline approaching, Congress still has options. It can pass a funding agreement and avoid a shutdown entirely. Short of that, it can take steps to ensure that military and Coast Guard pay remains uninterrupted.
Ensuring consistent pay for those who serve is not a matter of politics, but of responsibility, and one that carries lasting implications for the force and the families who support it.
Jason Stverak is Chief Advocacy Officer at the Defense Credit Union Council.