Oklahoma credit unions are offering short-term financial relief to federal employees in the state who have been furloughed or aren't receiving paychecks because of the recent government shutdown.
Caused by a disagreement in Congress over a federal appropriations measure and whether it should include COVID-19-era expansions to Medicaid eligibility, the federal shutdown has entered its fourth week. It's already the second-longest in U.S. history. It's putting a strain on federal workers.
Nicole Emmons is the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Tinker Federal Credit Union (TFCU), the biggest institution of its kind in Oklahoma. She said the credit union stays prepared to help its members in uncertain times through its Disaster and Hardship relief program.
"When we have had government shutdowns, this is something that we have turned on in the past, and we offer a no-interest, 90-day single payment loan," Emmons said. "And that loan amount goes up to $6,000 currently."
But that could change, depending on whether the shutdown drags on and tax money for public benefits, such as SNAP — also known as food stamps — begins to dry up.
"I cannot tell you what we are going to do in the future," Emmons said. "But we are in the process of evaluating these loans and identifying if we need to extend or increase that loan amount based on what is going on currently."
She says over 200 Oklahomans have already tapped into the 90-day no-interest loans, a number which doubled in the last week as the federal government shutdown drags on.
Other resources at TFCU include the option to skip a monthly loan payment without a fee and/or pay interest only. Everyone's financial situation is different, Emmons said, so actual relief services will vary based on specific needs.
Other financial institutions, such as USAA and Navy Federal Credit Union are also offering government shutdown relief to their members.
Oklahoma Federal Credit Union, another in-state credit union, offers a seasonal program and encourages its members affected by the shutdown to reach out via Facebook.
