Coast Guard commandant confirms missed pay checks in letter to members

The commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard said that service members will not receive their regular paycheck on Tuesday due to the ongoing partial government shutdown.

Adm. Karl Schultz said in a letter to the Coast Guard’s 42,000 members that the lapse in pay marks the first time to his knowledge that U.S. Armed Forces service members have not been paid because of a shutdown. 

“The strength of our Service has, and always will be, our people,” Schultz wrote. “You have proven time and again the ability to rise above adversity. Stay the course, stand the watch, and serve with pride. You are not, and will not, be forgotten.”

{mosads}Schultz said that the Coast Guard is “working closely” with service groups to assist military and civilian workers in need. The United Services Automobile Association (USAA), for example, has donated $15 million to the Coast Guard Mutual Assistance program, he said. The money will be distributed via the American Red Cross.

“I am grateful for the outpouring of support across the country, particularly in local communities, for our men and women,” Schultz said in his letter. “It is a direct reflection of the American public’s sentiment towards their United States Coast Guard; they recognize the sacrifice that you and your family make in service to your country.”

Today you will not be receiving your regularly scheduled paycheck. To the best of my knowledge, this marks the first time in our Nation’s history that servicemembers in a U.S. Armed Force have not been paid during a lapse in appropriations. Read more: https://t.co/5tLzGhK2nt pic.twitter.com/J2o00zWm0k

— Admiral Karl Schultz (@ComdtUSCG) January 15, 2019

Coast Guard members were last paid on Dec. 31 after an agreement was reached between the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Other military branches fall under the Department of Defense, which is not affected by the shutdown.

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said on Tuesday that she was working with the White House to pass legislation that would fund the Coast Guard.

Like the other branches of the U.S. military, active duty @USCG should be paid for their service and sacrifice to this nation. I’m working with the @WhiteHouse and Congress to pass legislation to fund the @USCG now.

— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) January 15, 2019

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed or forced to work without pay in recent weeks as roughly 25 percent of the government remains shuttered over President Trump’s demand for funding to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Lawmakers and the White House appeared no closer to an agreement on Tuesday, the 25th day of the shutdown.