Bucks County Family Hit Hard By Government Shutdown
By Ileana Diaz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Eddie and Kerri Guster review the thousands of dollars in bills they can't pay now that Eddie is furloughed from his job at the Environmental Protection Agency.
"I can't pay my mortgages for the first time in 10 years I had to tell the bank," Eddie Guster said.
So frustrated that Eddie now filed for unemployment. He is one of the 6,900 furloughed employees in the state who is banking on this for help.
"Figured any money is better than no money," Eddie said.
But it isn't so simple to get. You have to prove your salary and show proper paperwork.
"The problem is my paystubs are all on my furloughed computer," Eddie said.
Kerri and Eddie are waiting to hear back from the unemployment office and have asked credit card companies to hold their accounts for as long as possible.
"I've been picking up extra work to help ease strain financially, emotionally," Kerri said.
"I've been going around collecting old scrap metal and taking that to old recycling centers," Eddie said.
But Eddie tells us the scrap metal got him just a couple of bucks and until he's able to get unemployment or the shutdown ends -- he's been getting money from family.
"We've worked hard and a long time to get a house, pay for schools. It's frustrating to see it like this," Kerri said.
And now the Guster family is waiting and watching Congress hoping something gets resolved soon.
