NORFOLK, Va. — Just minutes before the clock struck midnight Saturday on the deadline for lawmakers to reach a deal on the 2023 spending bill, lawmakers passed a temporary spending bill to avert the shutdown for 45 days.
The rushed package drops aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but increases federal disaster assistance by $16 billion, meeting Biden’s full request. The bill funds government until Nov. 17.
The package was approved by the House 335-91, with most Republicans and almost all Democrats supporting. Senate passage came by an 88-9 vote.
This means Congress will again need to fund the government in coming weeks to avoid a shutdown. Views are hardening on lawmakers who narrowly made this last-ditch effort.
Thousands of Virginian families, including those in the military, are still at risk of having to work without pay if Congressional leaders don't come up with a resolution in time.
RELATED: What is a government shutdown? Here's what to know, from when it could start to who is affected.
What should families who would be impacted do in the coming weeks to prepare for a potential shutdown?
In addition to military families, workers like TSA agents and Air Traffic Controllers, are at risk of having to work without pay.
The longest government shutdown in the United States lasted 34 days from December 2018 into January 2019. Economics experts like Andrew Root with Regent University said they do not believe this potential shutdown would surpass that record.
"I don't imagine a shutdown would last that long because the public pressure would ratchet up so significantly," said Root.
The O'Shields family in Gloucester made it through the 2018-2019 historical shutdown stretch. Christine O'Shields' husband serves in the U.S. Coast Guard and is based out of Portsmouth. She said she and her family were on edge watching the government avert the shutdown Saturday night.
"We spent all day Saturday watching and waiting, are they going to pass a resolution? Like, it kind of takes the joy out of your Saturday. We had soccer games and our bi-weekly Costco trip and it was like, 'we can only get the essential items' because we don't know if we can purchase them," O'Shields said.
"It's really frustrating that year after year, this is something we have to face that we're constantly thinking to ourselves, 'are we going to have a paycheck coming in?'" O'Shields said.
O'Shields is raising three young children with her husband. She said she makes sure she goes through every coupon before going grocery shopping and tries to not splurge on the small things like taking her kids out for ice cream.
"It really does put families in a harder situation," said O'Shields. "It's not always easy for military families to say, 'Oh, I have three months savings..' Because it takes three to 10 years to get that savings to be able to survive something like this."
The temporary extension of the government shutdown is what economics experts are calling a bandage on the problem.
Root said there are a few things families can do to avoid financial hardships.
One is making sure you save where you can and add that to a savings account. He said the more you can tighten your budget in corners you perhaps didn't think about will add up over time. Root said consistency is key.
"This is a time where your basic financial plan is important and each financial plan would call for individuals to have some cash in a savings account, so if there is a few months of disruption, they won't be in a difficult spot to borrow," Root said.
"Another thing you also don't want to do is change your basic financial plan. You want to stick with it. Periods of volatility is the reason why you get to earn returns above bonds when you're in the stock market, or risky assets, so these periods of time are exactly the periods of time you want to stick with your financial plan," Root said.
Economics Assistant Professor at Christopher Newport University, Rik Chakraborti, said the best thing to do is to stay calm. He said if you can save up multiple months' worth of savings, that's great.
However, as many families cannot do that, he said even just one month's worth of savings will create that safety net.
"The first thing they can do is not panic..." Chakraborti said. "It really is about smart budgeting. No matter what, try and create an emergency fund that lets your survive a month. Six months is optional, that's difficult, but if you can survive a month of pay, you have a good cushion."
As someone who has experienced a government shutdown as part of a family member in the past, O'Shields said she and other military families she knows have reached out to landlords or mortgage companies to discuss possible solutions in wake of a potential shutdown.
She's hopeful lawmakers reach a deal before we get too close to the holiday season.