Verizon will waive late fees and offer flexible payment arrangements for workers affected by the partial government shutdown. The carrier has made similar offers before, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic when it gave customers extra mobile data at no extra cost.
The Department of Homeland Security has been hardest hit by the partial shutdown, but Verizon’s offer covers any federal employee who is able to offer employment verification. Verizon says employees can call 1-800-VERIZON (1-800-922-0204) to get their late fees waived and set up a payment plan.
The partial government shutdown began in February after Congress failed to pass a new DHS funding bill. However, the funding shortfall has not affected all of DHS’s vast organizations equally. While the Transportation Security Administration is no longer able to pay its employees — which caused significant delays in airport security lines last week — Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection have both been spared thanks to a separate funding pool established by the previous bill.
The inability of lawmakers to defund DHS also hinges on both agencies. Democratic senators and congressmen are demanding ICE agents wear body cams and remove masks before arrests, among other restrictions, and are refusing to defund DHS unless those restrictions are included in the bill. Both Republicans and Democrats have separately proposed funding the entire department, excluding ICE and CBP, but while that bill passed in the Senate, it was not taken up in the House.
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