JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- At Mark's Barber & Style in Jeffersonville on a rainy Friday night, business is steady as customers streamed through the door.
But what's happening practically across the street could put a damper on the good business.
"Their check is gone," said Aubure Groves, a loyal customer and friend of the owner. "That's a lot of people and a lot of lives and a lot of kids that need to be fed."
Across the street, the U.S. Census Bureau's National Processing Center employs about 1,700 government workers. Although the number fluctuates, roughly 40 to 60 percent are furloughed right now and aren't getting paid, according to Vickie Martin, a union president. The furloughs are a result of what's happening in Washington: a government shutdown with no end in sight.
"They would have to be going through pain and suffering right now, because everybody that does work, they work paycheck-to-paycheck," Groves said.
Martin, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1438, said the worry and anxiety reached a new peak Friday after President Donald Trump warned Democrats the shutdown over a border wall could last months or even years.
"Absolutely I said that," Trump said Friday afternoon. "I don't think it will, but I am prepared."
To Dustin White, a Jeffersonville city councilman, that's unfortunate news, especially since many of the Census buildings are in his district.
"You have a significant number of people there who now have an issue paying their bills, paying their mortgages, paying their rent, paying school lunches for their children," he said.
He's worried about a bigger impact too, for example, the trickle-down effect on businesses like Mark's Barber & Style, where Groves had a message to her congressman.
"You need to do something about this, man," she said. "Are you going to give them some of your money? You know, I'm just being real. I don't sugarcoat nothing for nobody."
Her congressman is Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, who said discussions and negotiations on the shutdown are ongoing in Washington. He said he's extremely sympathetic for government workers, but at the same time, he said voters sent him to Washington to secure the border to stop the flow of narcotics and illegal immigrants.
"For me, it's about Hoosiers," he said, adding that he plans to get more feedback from constituents over the weekend.
Hollingsworth said he has no crystal ball on how long the shutdown will last but said as soon as lawmakers and Trump reach an agreement that matches Hoosiers' values on border security, he won't hesitate a second to vote to reopen the government.
In the meantime, one furloughed Census worker who lives in Sellersburg won't be holding her breath. On Friday night, she said she and other workers are experiencing a "feeling of hopelessness" that's "smothering" after Trump's comments on Friday.
"This affects the community," she said.
Although she's experienced a number of shutdowns before, she said this one has brought the most uncertainty than the others. On Friday, when she bought groceries, she said she spent the "barest amount of money" in anticipation the shutdown will continue.
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