TSA warns shutdown is forcing some workers to draw blood to pay for gas

By Fox News · Fox News

Some Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents are selling their blood plasma to make ends meet as the 38-day Department of Homeland Security shutdown drags on, acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told reporters Tuesday. "We got folks sleeping in cars," Stahl told reporters at Washington’s Reagan National Airport, referring to TSA employees. "I talked to a single mother recently who has a three-year-old child with special needs and can't afford to pay for childcare for that three-year-old child." Stahl also said some agents are having "blood drawn to afford gas to come to work." The bleak situation comes as TSA agents nationwide have been forced to report to work without pay during the prolonged funding lapse. More than 50,000 TSA personnel will miss their second full paycheck of the shutdown if the funding lapse is not resolved by Friday. TRUMP SAYS ICE WILL DEPLOY TO AIRPORTS MONDAY TO ASSIST TSA AMID FUNDING STANDOFF Though talks to end the shutdown have ramped up in the past 24 hours, Stahl warned that the impact funding lapses have on TSA agents would continue to worsen if the shutdown does not end soon. "It’s a dire situation," Stahl said. "The longer our folks don’t get paid, the more they’re going to not be able to come into work and the more they’re going to quit altogether." The shortage of TSA workers at major travel hubs across the country has led to hours-long wait times at airport security checkpoints. Stahl said the ongoing spring break travel season could exacerbate airports’ staffing constraints. More than 400 TSA agents have quit since the shutdown began on Feb. 14. "This again is going to get worse before it gets better if Senate Democrats particularly don’t act and don’t act soon," he said, adding that a mass exit of TSA workers hurts the agency’s ability to prepare for the upcoming FIFA World Cup later this summer. LIZ PEEK: VOTERS TELL CONGRESS 'DO YOUR JOB' AND END THE DHS SHOWDOWN GOP lawmakers have blasted their Democratic…