Every year in the United States, the U.S. Congress is tasked with creating a federal budget for the next fiscal year. The budget is created in the House of Representatives, sent to the Senate for approval, and finally sent to the president for his signature.
That is an incredibly simplified explanation of how a budget is created and passed. The actual process is far more complex, time-consuming, and, these days, controversial.
Related: How veterans and spouses can get financial help during a government shutdown
Controversy, you might have noticed, tends to slow down the bureaucratic process. When you’re dealing with the dollar amounts the U.S. government is, though, controversy makes sure the important lights stay on.
This is where government shutdowns come into play.
How a Shutdown Affects the Military
When the legislative branch and the executive branch cannot agree on a budget (be it because the president will not sign the legislation, the Senate sends it back for reworking, or the House didn’t come to an agreement), the government must cease all work that does not pertain to national security or critical infrastructure until a budget can be enacted. All nonessential personnel must stop working, and their pay stops.
Members of the U.S. military are considered essential personnel, as are some of their civilian counterparts (called exempted employees) who work within their various agencies. Places like the PX (BX), commissary, and gas stations stay operational, as do child development centers, Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) schools, and clinics/hospitals.
However, special programs, such as parents’ night out (offered at some CDCs), STEM club (offered at some DODEA schools), and case lot sales (offered at some commissaries), are often canceled. The personnel in those agencies also work without pay during government shutdowns.
Most major banks previously still paid service members during a shutdown and simply took their money back when the government reopened. However, during the October 2025 shutdown, most banks revised their standard operating procedures. Some banks still paid service members, but not their civilian counterparts, and most banks required their members to take out personal loans for their paychecks rather than fronting the pay and taking it back later.
No bank that this writer spoke with could explain why the change to their standard practice, nor would any bank explain what the approval or denial process was based on other than “well qualified” and “minimum credit score” (to be clear, no bank would explain what either of those requirements looked like).
Some banks, like Navy Federal Credit Union and USAA, continued to pay civilian federal employees, but the same process applied. This, for at least a short period of time, was because some of those employees belonged to agencies like MCCS (Marine Corps Community Services) that weren’t recognized as federal for some reason, and the policy only applied to some exempted federal employees.
For the non-Marines in the audience, MCCS runs all exchanges, gas stations, child development centers, single Marine programs, and Fleet and Family Services (your deployment readiness coordinators, therapists, FAP, etc.). It is a huge agency, and for at least a little bit in the October shutdown, none of them got paid.
Suffice it to say, while the military and their civilian counterparts continue business as usual during government shutdowns, the absence of already minimal paychecks creates a significant pressure point for both individuals and mission readiness.
What to Do During the Next Shutdown
There are some programs in place to help during a government shutdown. We have Military OneSource, your branch aid societies, your chaplain, and local food banks, to name a few.
The first two places to start are Military OneSource and your chaplain. Your chaplain may not be able to do anything for you directly, but chaplains always have access to local resources that can help with food, rent, and other emergency expenses.
For personnel who have a family readiness program, your representative for that program will also have access to local resources.
For personnel in remote locations, Military OneSource will still be your best, most direct line to locating resources to assist.
Some things you can do to prepare in the event of a shutdown (and in advance, even if you wind up not needing these things, it’s good to have the resources on hand):
• Request payment relief from creditors with this sample letter from the Army.
• Request rent relief from landlords with this sample letter from the Army.
• Check out this post from the Army with a lot of other suggestions on how to deal with bills during a shutdown.
Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty
• The best resources banks and aid societies offered during past shutdowns
• A Marine Corps veteran’s grind to rebuild a fire-ravaged neighborhood
• Strangers on GoFundMe raise nearly $2 million to help a Vietnam vet retire
