The budget shutdown in the United States has been ongoing for a week, and civil servants have already begun applying for loans to cope with the lack of pay during this period.

Since October 1, the shutdown has placed hundreds of thousands of civil servants across the country on compulsory furlough. Others, such as air traffic controllers and soldiers, continue to work.

In both cases, until a budget is voted, the payment of salaries that should have been collected over the period is suspended.

"We feel a bit like bargaining chips," a long-time Air Force employee told AFP.

"We're not getting paid because people in Washington who are getting paid can't agree," laments the man, speaking on condition of anonymity due to his duty of confidentiality.

"Not only are we working without pay, but we're working more because our colleagues in civilian clothes are all stuck at home," he fumes. He adds: "It's not good for morale."

The date of October 15th appears to be a sensitive deadline for both the ruling Republican Party and the Democrats, who have so far been unable to find common ground, as it is normally payday (for salaries paid every two weeks).

If the shutdown continues, more balances will be missed while personal loan, rent, and utility payments continue to fall due.

"It's very stressful," Marilyn Richards, 46, a civil servant in central Missouri, told AFP.

"Most people live day to day, counting on the next paycheck to pay the bills and not be without electricity... That's me," says the woman whose household relies on her income to keep her head above water.

- Troubleshooting -

To compensate for the lack of fresh money, civil servants are turning to salary protection programs set up by mutual banks.

These short-term, zero-interest loans generally allow borrowers to borrow a few thousand dollars for a period of three to six months, Haleigh Laverty, spokesperson for the Defense Credit Union Council, an organization representing institutions dedicated to military personnel and their entourage, told AFP.

During the last budgetary paralysis (end of 2018-beginning of 2019), the Navy Federal Credit Union bank provided more than $50 million to around 19,000 people.

According to a spokesperson, the establishment has already received new requests this year.

The same is true at Cobalt Credit Union, reports CEO Robin Larson.

During the previous shutdown, this mutual bank had granted loans to several thousand of its 120,000 clients linked to the Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska (central), headquarters of the American Strategic Command.

For the time being, the Air Force employee interviewed by AFP does not plan to resort to one of these loans.

"If I don't get paid, I'll have to dip into my savings," he says, preferring not to imagine a scenario where this situation drags on.