Credit Unions Aid More Than 60,000 People During Shutdown
About 800,000 federal government workers endure 35 days without pay.
At least 60,000 people were helped by credit unions during the 35-day partial federal government shutdown, according to an informal CUNA poll.
CUNA distributed the results on Capitol Hill last week in a letter that also cited a finding from a Prudential survey that 62% of the families affected by the shutdown reported that they depleted most or all their savings.
From Dec. 22 to Jan. 25 about 800,000 federal workers were unpaid, some were forced to work without pay, as President Trump tried, without success, to get Congress to provide money for a wall on the Mexican border.
More than 500 credit unions participating in CUNA’s poll reported making $46 million in low- or no-interest loans to people affected by the shutdown. They also reported:
- Over 60,000 members turned to their credit union for support.
- 11,000 of those members were afforded loan extensions and other modifications, often with associated fees waived.
- At least 3,000 people joined a credit union to help them weather the shutdown’s financial uncertainty.
“Beyond all of this, we heard of so many families who were told time and again that while their bank could defer existing loans, they couldn’t help families deal with day-to-day costs like putting groceries in the pantry,” Ryan Donovan, CUNA’s chief advocacy officer wrote in the letter distributed to congressional offices.
“We were there for the shutdown,” he wrote. “We were there for the wildfires, the floods, and the hurricanes. And we were there for the daily misfortunes. And we’ll continue to be there.”
Prudential Financial on Feb. 12 released the findings of its survey of more than 350 federal employees and contractors who went unpaid during the shutdown. It found:
- Nearly half fell behind on their bills during the shutdown. More than 25% missed a mortgage or rent payment.
- Nearly 25% cut back or eliminated spending on health or medical expense for themselves or family members.
- More than 80% said their overall stress levels spiked, with half reporting they became “much more stressed.”