Veteran whose husband is furloughed during government shutdown wins $100K lottery

Hope Schreiber
·Writer
A family impacted by government shutdown wins a $100K lottery prize. (Photo: Virginia Lottery)
A family impacted by government shutdown wins a $100K lottery prize. (Photo: Virginia Lottery)

A game of chance resulted in a happy ending for one Virginia family impacted by the government shutdown.

As President Donald Trump enters the most extended government shutdown in U.S. history, employees lower on the totem pole are the ones who are suffering without pay. While Congress has approved back pay for federal workers, the legislation will still need to be signed by Trump in order for workers to gain their missed paychecks.

An Ashburn woman ended up winning Virginia Lottery’s top $100,000 prize at precisely the right time as her husband — an Air Force veteran who served her nation for 13 years — is currently furloughed due to the partial government shutdown.

“I cried. I couldn’t believe it,” said Carrie Walls of Ashburn. Out of over 554,000 entries in the Dec. 4 drawing, Walls’s ticket was chosen, and she walked away with the large prize as well as a Ford Expedition. Walls plans on taking her family to Disney World after the big win.

While the government is in a partial shutdown, many businesses are stepping up to help those affected by it, including AT&T and other mobile providers who are waiving their late fees for the furloughed. Meanwhile, citizens pick up the slack by helping clean national parks.

Currently, despite some federal employees continuing to work while others take unpaid time off, approximately 800,000 are going without pay, including Secret Service agents, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, TSA agents, NASA employees, and many others. Many of those affected by the shutdown do live paycheck to paycheck.

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