1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

I am a federal contractor and have been furloughed since October 1st. Unlike my federal employee counterparts, I will not receive back pay once the government reopens. I cannot even qualify for a hardship loan because the lenders know that I will not receive back pay. I am a single mother of two school age children. I don’t know how I am going to financially survive this shutdown. I work as a grants management specialist with the National Institutes of Health and I love my job and am proud of the work that I do. I deserve the same respect as government employees who have been harassed and bullied and threatened since January. Please work to change the laws for the thousands of federal contractors in Maryland and the DMV, so that we too can receive back pay. Thank you.