The deal to reopen the US government has the Coast Guard (USCG) back operating at full capacity, and with pay checks to come.
The funding impasse that followed President Donald Trump's demands for a border wall with Mexico hampered some essential Coast Guard activities and caused the agency to miss paychecks for active duty and civilian members this month.
But with Friday's temporary, three-week spending bill, the USCG — along with the rest of the federal government — got a reprieve.
"[T]he Coast Guard has resumed normal operations and is working to process pay as quickly as possible for the more than 55,000 Coast Guard active duty, reserve, and civilian employees who did not receive their regularly-scheduled monthly pay and benefits," chief warrant officer Barry Lane said in a statement Monday.
The USCG was the only US military branch hit by the shutdown because it is run by the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Department of Defense.
Practically, it meant the USCG focused on activities related to national security and safety as several thousand civilian employees were furloughed.
But those employees provided a backbone for that work, said Charlie Papavizas, a Washington, DC maritime lawyer at Winston & Strawn,
Closer to home, USCG members and their families were reportedly relying on food pantries to put food on the table in the absence of pay.
Lane said those paychecks, including back pay, would go out by the end of the month.
Last week, Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz said the missed pay for civilian members was a "sobering milestone" in a video posted to social media.
"I find it unacceptable that Coast Guard men and women have to rely on food pantries and donations to get through day-to-day life as service members," he said.
"Continue to stand tall. Your dedication and resilience through this adversity defines the absolute best of our nation."
