1
00:00:01,900 --> 00:00:03,933
JUDY WOODRUFF: Twenty-five 
days and counting into the 
federal government shutdown, the

2
00:00:03,933 --> 00:00:06,633
impact is being 
felt far and wide.

3
00:00:06,633 --> 00:00:11,633
In Florida, John Yang found 
the ripple effects reaching the 
swamps of the Everglades, the

4
00:00:13,066 --> 00:00:15,733
tourist-packed airports and 
even future weather forecasts.

5
00:00:15,733 --> 00:00:19,666
GARL HARROLD, Nature Guide, 
Garl's Coastal Kayaking: You 
guys are OK to get a little

6
00:00:19,666 --> 00:00:21,700
wet?

7
00:00:21,700 --> 00:00:25,666
JOHN YANG: For 17 years, nature 
guide Garl Harrold has been 
making a living leading tours

8
00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:28,800
through Everglades 
National Park.

9
00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:30,700
GARL HARROLD: If you look 
on the trees, you can 
actually see the waterline.

10
00:00:30,700 --> 00:00:33,333
And, pretty soon, it will 
be completely dried up.

11
00:00:33,333 --> 00:00:38,000
JOHN YANG: Taking people 
from around the world, 
like this couple from 
Germany, slogging through

12
00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,966
cypress swamps for up-close 
encounters with alligators, 
snakes, and an array of other

13
00:00:45,233 --> 00:00:46,633
wildlife.

14
00:00:46,633 --> 00:00:48,400
GARL HARROLD: We got 
red-shouldered hawks up here.

15
00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,400
There's actually a nest 
up around the corner.

16
00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:54,866
JOHN YANG: But the government 
shutdown is taking a big 
bite out of his business.

17
00:00:54,866 --> 00:00:56,300
GARL HARROLD: It's 
really slowing down.

18
00:00:56,300 --> 00:00:57,300
JOHN YANG: How slow?

19
00:00:57,300 --> 00:00:59,866
GARL HARROLD: Pretty slow.

20
00:00:59,866 --> 00:01:03,300
Our numbers are down, and 
we're getting cancellations 
from especially in Europe 
and abroad, because

21
00:01:05,566 --> 00:01:07,666
they don't want to come here.

22
00:01:07,666 --> 00:01:11,666
JOHN YANG: While the gates are 
open, there's no one to collect 
entry fees, and some apparently

23
00:01:11,666 --> 00:01:13,733
believe the park is closed.

24
00:01:13,733 --> 00:01:18,466
As a result, business is drying 
up for Harrold and other guides.

25
00:01:18,466 --> 00:01:20,433
How squeezed are you 
right now financially?

26
00:01:20,433 --> 00:01:22,900
GARL HARROLD: Pretty tight.

27
00:01:22,900 --> 00:01:25,000
Very tight.

28
00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,933
Actually, I have gone through 
most of my savings to just make 
my mortgage and the car payments

29
00:01:27,933 --> 00:01:30,000
and insurance.

30
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,800
JOHN YANG: It would likely be 
even worse if it weren't for 
people like Peter Campbell.

31
00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:38,800
He does the daily chores 
that National Park 
Service workers did before 
the shutdown, staffing

32
00:01:42,166 --> 00:01:47,133
the main visitor center's 
information desk, taking out the 
trash, even cleaning the men's

33
00:01:49,033 --> 00:01:51,500
room.

34
00:01:51,500 --> 00:01:52,766
PETER CAMPBELL, Florida 
National Parks Association: 
Being a former school 
principal, it's not

35
00:01:52,766 --> 00:01:55,266
unusual to have to 
clean restrooms.

36
00:01:55,266 --> 00:01:58,166
JOHN YANG: Campbell's 
work is being funded by 
the nonprofit Florida 
National Parks Association.

37
00:02:00,866 --> 00:02:02,633
Jim Sutton runs the group.

38
00:02:02,633 --> 00:02:06,000
He says it's literally 
paying to keep the lights on.

39
00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:07,466
So, you're paying 
for the electricity.

40
00:02:07,466 --> 00:02:08,700
JIM SUTTON, Florida National 
Parks Association: Yes.

41
00:02:08,700 --> 00:02:09,866
JOHN YANG: Who's paying 
for the toilet paper?

42
00:02:09,866 --> 00:02:11,066
JIM SUTTON: I am.

43
00:02:11,066 --> 00:02:11,900
JOHN YANG: Who's 
paying for the soap?

44
00:02:11,900 --> 00:02:13,933
JIM SUTTON: I am.

45
00:02:13,933 --> 00:02:17,100
JOHN YANG: Some of the money 
comes from the park's gift 
shops, where business has also

46
00:02:17,100 --> 00:02:19,100
dropped during the shutdown.

47
00:02:19,100 --> 00:02:24,100
Spending more to maintain 
the park now could mean tough 
decisions in the future.

48
00:02:25,233 --> 00:02:27,233
But Sutton doesn't 
see any other choice.

49
00:02:27,233 --> 00:02:31,666
JIM SUTTON: My logic is, it's 
much easier to maintain it 
now than it is to catch up

50
00:02:31,666 --> 00:02:33,866
later, whenever the 
government does reopen.

51
00:02:33,866 --> 00:02:38,866
JOHN YANG: This couldn't come at 
a worse time for the Everglades 
and the businesses around

52
00:02:38,866 --> 00:02:40,966
it that rely on tourists.

53
00:02:40,966 --> 00:02:42,933
This is when they 
make their money.

54
00:02:42,933 --> 00:02:47,933
And once it's lost, 
it's lost forever.

55
00:02:49,766 --> 00:02:53,366
For Garl Harrold, it's the 
second bad season in a row.

56
00:02:53,366 --> 00:02:58,100
Last winter, the park 
was recovering from 
Category 5 Hurricane Irma.

57
00:02:58,100 --> 00:03:01,500
Of what you make in a year, how 
much do you make in this period?

58
00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:02,966
GARL HARROLD: Most of it.

59
00:03:02,966 --> 00:03:05,800
JOHN YANG: So if you 
lose business now?

60
00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,200
GARL HARROLD: Then it's 
hard to catch back up.

61
00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:09,600
And we're already 
suffering from Irma.

62
00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:11,466
JOHN YANG: How worried are you?

63
00:03:11,466 --> 00:03:14,433
GARL HARROLD: Pretty worried.

64
00:03:14,433 --> 00:03:18,666
JOHN YANG: Worry is something 
Cassandra Blackmon knows well.

65
00:03:18,666 --> 00:03:23,666
She's a TSA officer at the 
Fort Lauderdale Airport, a 
single mom who's not getting a

66
00:03:24,466 --> 00:03:26,500
paycheck.

67
00:03:26,500 --> 00:03:27,433
CASSANDRA BLACKMON, 
Transportation Security 
Administration: I have 
a 15-year-old and a

68
00:03:27,433 --> 00:03:29,500
10-year-old.

69
00:03:29,500 --> 00:03:32,633
And it's hard to explain to 
them that I'm not getting a 
paycheck, because they see you

70
00:03:32,633 --> 00:03:34,633
go to work.

71
00:03:34,633 --> 00:03:38,633
JOHN YANG: Nationwide, 51,000 
TSA agents are on the job 
without pay during the shutdown.

72
00:03:40,700 --> 00:03:45,466
Miami International Airport is 
one of several where officers 
are calling out sick, so many

73
00:03:46,866 --> 00:03:49,900
that, this past weekend, 
one concourse closed early.

74
00:03:49,900 --> 00:03:54,900
Blackmon says morale is 
so low that some of her 
TSA colleagues may quit.

75
00:03:56,833 --> 00:04:00,133
If President Trump or members 
of Congress were here, 
what would you say to them?

76
00:04:01,933 --> 00:04:03,166
(LAUGHTER)

77
00:04:03,166 --> 00:04:04,600
CASSANDRA BLACKMON: 
What do I say to them?

78
00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:07,466
You know, I don't even 
think I can say that on TV.

79
00:04:07,466 --> 00:04:09,066
It's disgusting.

80
00:04:09,066 --> 00:04:11,066
It's very immature.

81
00:04:11,066 --> 00:04:14,700
It's like, I'm not getting what 
I want, so I'm going to whine 
about it and make the poor

82
00:04:14,700 --> 00:04:16,933
people suffer more.

83
00:04:16,933 --> 00:04:21,933
JOHN YANG: Eric Blake's family 
is down to one paycheck, 
his wife, Suzana (ph).

84
00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:31,000
He's a meteorologist at the 
National Hurricane Center in 
Miami, working without pay.

85
00:04:32,833 --> 00:04:35,100
If he misses another 
paycheck, their financial 
forecast is bleak.

86
00:04:35,100 --> 00:04:38,433
ERIC BLAKE, National Hurricane 
Center: Right now, I'm staring 
at a host of Christmas bills,

87
00:04:38,433 --> 00:04:40,233
not really knowing how 
I'm going to pay them.

88
00:04:40,233 --> 00:04:43,666
I have paid the minimum 
on all my credit cards.

89
00:04:43,666 --> 00:04:47,633
I have cut all of 
the nonessential -- 
nonessential purchases.

90
00:04:47,633 --> 00:04:52,633
JOHN YANG: Blake's work 
is considered essential, 
but nearly 200 scientists 
who would be preparing

91
00:04:53,833 --> 00:04:55,900
for the next hurricane 
season are furloughed.

92
00:04:55,900 --> 00:05:00,466
ERIC BLAKE: Every year, 
we really focus our 
efforts on making better 
hurricane forecasts,

93
00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:02,133
intensity and track.

94
00:05:02,133 --> 00:05:03,366
We really pride ourselves on it.

95
00:05:03,366 --> 00:05:05,333
And right now, we're 
just unable to do it.

96
00:05:05,333 --> 00:05:07,800
We have a list of dozens of 
things we're trying to do.

97
00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:09,866
Right now, we're not going 
to doing any of them.

98
00:05:09,866 --> 00:05:14,066
JOHN YANG: And the center has 
had to cancel the first of three 
training classes for emergency

99
00:05:14,066 --> 00:05:16,366
managers from 
hurricane-prone areas.

100
00:05:16,366 --> 00:05:18,433
The other two are in doubt.

101
00:05:18,433 --> 00:05:23,400
Is it too much of a stretch 
to say that not working on the 
models now could cost lives

102
00:05:24,566 --> 00:05:26,033
in the coming hurricane season?

103
00:05:26,033 --> 00:05:28,566
ERIC BLAKE: It's not really 
that much of a stretch.

104
00:05:28,566 --> 00:05:33,200
If I were moving to 
Florida, and I would want 
my emergency manager to 
have the best possible

105
00:05:34,333 --> 00:05:37,066
information to make 
their decision.

106
00:05:37,066 --> 00:05:42,066
And without the training and 
outreach that the Hurricane 
Center does with FEMA, it just

107
00:05:42,966 --> 00:05:45,366
isn't possible.

108
00:05:45,366 --> 00:05:48,966
JOHN YANG: While Blake 
worries about the 
hurricane season ahead, 
Cassandra Blackmon, the TSA

109
00:05:50,166 --> 00:05:53,400
officer, is just trying 
to weather the shutdown.

110
00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:55,433
CASSANDRA BLACKMON: 
It's ridiculous.

111
00:05:55,433 --> 00:05:59,400
It's not fair to the 
middle class and the 
poor people, because a 
lot of federal employees

112
00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:02,000
are middle class.

113
00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:03,333
You don't qualify for anything.

114
00:06:03,333 --> 00:06:05,833
You make too much or 
you don't make enough.

115
00:06:05,833 --> 00:06:07,633
So we're stuck in the middle.

116
00:06:07,633 --> 00:06:11,066
And to not receive a paycheck is 
like -- it's really devastating.

117
00:06:11,066 --> 00:06:16,066
JOHN YANG: And nature guide 
Garl Harrold is slogging 
through, one step at a time.

118
00:06:18,100 --> 00:06:21,166
GARL HARROLD: Just keep in mind, 
if it wasn't for the volunteers 
that are keeping the bathrooms

119
00:06:21,166 --> 00:06:25,066
clean and doing the stuff 
they're doing, we wouldn't 
have been able to do this.

120
00:06:25,066 --> 00:06:30,066
JOHN YANG: As he and others 
search for ways to survive 
the government shutdown.

121
00:06:31,933 --> 00:06:34,300
For the "PBS NewsHour," 
I'm John Yang in 
Everglades National Park.