The U.S. Coast Guard will be out of money at the end of this week if Congress doesn't step in.
CBS News reported that the military branch is now 75 days into the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which is impacting the Department of Homeland Security. Last year, DHS was given considerable budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). So, Republicans have fought to give them even more in the new budget. It has held up all DHS funding.
Now the Coast Guard owes over $300 million in unpaid contracts. There are thousands of utility bills overdue.
"It seems like a horror movie, but it's actually happening. It's almost unbelievable," said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday when speaking to CBS.
There have already been water outages at Port Huron, Michigan and Station Channel Islands, California.
"Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, had natural gas lines temporarily locked. A power outage at a recruiting station in St. Louis, Missouri, forced officers to operate by flashlight until electricity could be restored," the report said.
Meanwhile, the electricity was cut off "to the residence of a Coast Guard rear admiral in New Orleans, forcing his family to drive to a hotel until service was restored." There are about 1,000 more housing units with past due bills beyond 30 days, amounting to about 43 percent.
Adm. Kevin Lunday called it "unacceptable."
"I think the American people would be furious to know this is happening," he told CBS. "We have over 6,000 utility bills that have been unpaid because DHS is not funded. And so, now we're starting to see electricity, water, natural gas, other services shut off that are impacting not only our operational units and bases where our people work, but starting to impact where people live."
Several years ago, Congress passed a bill to protect military personnel from a shutdown. The Coast Guard doesn't enjoy that same protection, however.
"It's more than a breach of trust," the commandant explained to CNN. "Our Coast Guard men and women, whether they're active duty or reserve military civilians, they've stepped forward and taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution. What they expect in return is just to be paid and provide services."
They don't expect "to have to worry about whether their families are going to be taken care of," Lunday added.