North Dakota Rolls out Low-Interest Loans to Aid Federal Workers During Shutdown

Gov. Kelly Armstrong, left. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota is offering an estimated 9,200 federal workers a lifeline through a loan program approved Wednesday to help military and other families affected by the government shutdown.

The North Dakota Industrial Commission approved the Furloughed Federal Employee Relief Program, which leverages the state-owned Bank of North Dakota to offer low-interest loans to cover lost wages. The short-term loans can be repaid after the federal government reopens and employees receive back pay.

Gov. Kelly Armstrong, who recently served in Congress, said the idea for the relief program started in his head in 2018 when he was flying to Washington, D.C., during a shutdown and was “read the riot act” by a Transportation Security Administration agent who was working without pay.

“And rightfully so. We ask those guys to go to work every single day in the middle of these shutdowns, regardless if they’re getting paid or not,” said Armstrong, a Republican who chairs the three-member Industrial Commission.