Coast Guard members and some U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers would not receive scheduled paychecks Feb. 27 if the Department of Homeland Security does not receive full funding – a ripple effect of a broken federal budget process, and an ongoing threat to readiness and retention in the all-volunteer force.

While the bulk of uniformed servicemembers are finally covered by full-year funding after agreements reached last month, approximately 41,000 Coast Guard active duty and activated reserve personnel, as well as hundreds of USPHS members assigned to the Department of Homeland Security, continue their duties with no guarantee of compensation at month’s end. The shutdown also means a stoppage in some training and maintenance programs, along with vessel inspections and routine patrols.

[TAKE ACTION: Ask Your Lawmakers to Protect Servicemember Pay During a Shutdown]

“Shutdowns cripple morale and directly hare our ability to recruit and retain the talented Americans we need to meet challenging demands,” Vice Adm. Thomas Allan, the service’s acting vice commandant, told House members in Feb. 11 testimony. “The work our Coast Guard crews perform every day is dangerous and challenging, often involving interactions with those who would do them and our way of life harm. Our people deserve to have the resources they need so they can perform their duties safely and efficiently.”

Others in uniform faced similar uncertainties last year during a record-setting 35-day federal shutdown, and as a result of previous funding lapses.

Lawmakers frequently scramble to ensure servicemembers receive paychecks during these periods, and last-minute solutions were reached during the 2025 funding lapse to ensure servicemembers were paid, but the resulting financial chaos weakens the force and adds stress to an already-stressful occupation. That’s why MOAA supports the Shutdown Fairness Act (S. 3186), which would protect the pay of those in the armed services, to include National Guard and Reserve members, during a shutdown.

[RELATED: 3 Ways to Protect Servicemembers and Veterans From the Next Shutdown]

“Short-term solutions only provide temporary relief,” Allan told Congress. “No one in our military should be forced to live with this uncertainty, paycheck to paycheck.”

MOAA also is working with lawmakers to add the commissioned corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and NOAA to the list of protected branches. There are over 700 USPHS members assigned to the Department of Homeland Security who could go without pay because of this lapse in appropriations.

Without these protections, and without a timely and complete federal budget, some or all of our servicemembers and their families must continue to make financial contingency plans, operating under threat of missing multiple paychecks throughout the year. Continuing resolutions may provide temporary fixes, but legislation like the Shutdown Fairness Act would give these members the ability to serve without distraction … and show future members of the force that our nation will pay those in uniform what they’ve earned.

Lawmakers may be on recess this week, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be monitoring constituent feedback: Send a message today through our Legislative Action Center and lend your voice to this important cause.