Resources for Furloughed Federal Employees and Contractors
Quick links and relief options for federal employees and contractors in the DMV and nationwide. These links are provided for general information only. Sligo Law Group, PLLC does not endorse or verify the accuracy of any external sites or resources listed here.
1 Unemployment Compensation
Also called unemployment insurance. Apply in the jurisdiction of your duty station (not your home address).
2 Financial Assistance & Institutions
Programs & Utilities
- BeneFeds — manage benefits when transitioning from federal service
- Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund (FEEA) — Emergency Hardship Loans & Shutdown Grants
- Hebrew Free Loan Society — interest-free loans for NYC residents (NY)
- MyFEDBenefits Shutdown Assistance Map — searchable map of verified offers
- National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) — tailored financial counseling
- Troop Financial Resources — support for service members
Emergency & Furlough Grants
- FEEA–NARFE $100 grants — for active federal employee members
Banks & Credit Unions
- Andrews Federal Credit Union
- Bank of America — 844-219-0690
- Cabrillo Credit Union (CA)
- Chase — 888-356-0023
- Congressional FCU — 800-491-2328
- FedChoice FCU — Furlough Loans
- Interior FCU
- Maryland/DC Credit Union Assistance Program
- Navy Federal — 0% APR loans (eligibility applies)
- PayPal Credit — 877-689-1975
- PenFed — Furlough relief
- SunTrust/Truist
- Synchrony Bank
- U.S. Bank
- U.S. Employees CU — 312-922-5310
- Union Plus — 800-472-2005
- USAA — no-interest loans (eligibility applies)
- Wells Fargo
3 Rental & Mortgage Assistance
4 Food Assistance Programs
- Bread for the City — Holiday Helpings (Nov 3–25; DC families, furloughed feds & contractors)
- Capital Area Food Bank — DMV Help
- Columbia Community Care (MD) — Food bank (no ID)
- Feeding America — Find your local food bank
- Greater Baltimore Area — Food banks & schedules
- Maryland Food Bank — Shutdown FAQs on benefits
- New York Common Pantry
- Nourish Now (MD) — Food assistance
- Northern Virginia Food Rescue
- World Central Kitchen — Free meals for federal workers (DC)
- School meals: contact your local district to report loss of income and apply for free/reduced-price meals.
5 Household & Family Support
- National Diaper Bank Network — locations
- Palisades Vet Clinic — Free pet exams
- Technologists for the Public Good × Empower Work — free confidential counseling
6 Regional, National & Other Support
National
- Justice Connection (support for DOJ employees)
- Partnership for Public Service — Resource Hub
- State of Maryland — Workers Impacted by Federal Actions
Regional (DMV)
- Alexandria, VA — Shutdown info
- Arlington, VA — Resident resources
- Fairfax County (VA) — car tax deadline updates
- Maryland — State loan programs
- Virginia — State resources & protections
Utilities & Energy Assistance
- BGE — expanded bill assistance
- Dominion Energy (VA) — bill payment assistance
- LIHEAP — heating/cooling assistance
- Pepco — expanded support & Gift of Energy
- SMECO — extended payment arrangements
- Washington Area Fuel Fund — heating support
- Washington Gas — energy assistance
- WSSC Water — suspending turnoffs & waiving late fees
Transportation
- Frederick County TransIT — free bus service
- MARC (MD) — free rides with Federal ID (details)
- Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland — commuter programs
7 Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
- TSP — Guidance on loan payment suspension (Thrift Line: 877-968-3778)
8 Automotive Finance & Services
- Ford Credit
- GM Financial
- Hyundai Motor Finance — 800-523-4030
- Kia Motors Finance — 866-331-5632
- Koons Motors — Free in-home oil change & service (Ford/Lincoln/Mazda; federal employees)
- Lexus Financial Services — 800-874-7050
- Mercedes-Benz Financial Services
- Toyota Financial Services — 800-874-8822
9 Mobile Phone Service Providers
- AT&T — assistance & payment extensions
- Sprint/T-Mobile — payment arrangements — 888-211-4747 / 877-746-0909 / 611
- Verizon — payment relief & flexible options — 866-266-1445
10 Home, Auto & Life Insurance Relief
- MetLife — 800-GET-MET8 (one-time 30-day grace inquiry)
- Rent-A-Center (Benefits Plus) — involuntary unemployment waiver
- USAA — deferments for loans/credit cards
11 Restaurant & Food Discounts (bring Federal ID; offers vary)
Restaurants and cafes offering deals to furloughed or unpaid federal employees during the shutdown:
- Airlie — Free buffet lunch on Wednesdays
- Barrel — “Unhappy hour” specials
- Carmine’s DC — All-day happy hour + specials
- China Chilcano — Free donburi bowl
- Compass Coffee — Free pastry with any drink
- Cucina Morini — $10 primi pastas
- District Winery — BOGO glasses of wine
- Ekiben (Baltimore) — Free food (show federal ID)
- El Tamarindo — Free coffee with breakfast & $15 lunch combo
- Hard Rock Cafe DC — All-day happy hour & $12 lunch deals
- IKEA (College Park & Woodbridge) — Free breakfast
- Jaleo — Free sandwich
- José Andrés Group — Free dine-in lunch (Mon–Fri 11:30–3)
- KYOJIN Sushi — 20% off
- Moby Dick House of Kabob — Free lunch sandwiches (weekdays 11–2; any location)
- Nina May — Free carrot cake with any food or drink purchase
- Nue Vietnamese — Extended happy hour & drink discounts
- Opaline — 15% off menu items with government ID
- Oyamel — Free torta
- Paisano’s — 30% off pizzas (code “TOGETHER”)
- RIMTANG — 20% off
- Taco Bamba — One free taco with purchase
- The Fish Market — All-day happy hour
- Thompson Restaurants — 20% off (Big Buns, Makers Union, Matchbox, Wiseguy Pizza)
- Tonic at Quigley’s Pharmacy — Free beer with purchase of a burger or sandwich
- Trouvaille Brewing Co. — First beer $1
- Union Pub — $3 beer / $7 hot dog + beer combo
- YUME Sushi — 20% off
- Zaytinya — Free durum wrap or pita sandwich
Sources include Washington.org and WTOP (see Sources below).
12 Museums & Entertainment
- Anderson House — Free admission
- Blooms Collective — 20% off workshops
- Center for the Arts (George Mason University, Fairfax)
- George Washington’s Mount Vernon — 20% off admission (code DCWEB20)
- Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens — Free admission
- Hylton Performing Arts Center (Manassas)
- International Spy Museum — 50% off tickets
- Keegan Theatre — Two complimentary tickets (email boxoffice@keegantheatre.com)
- Kraken Kourts & Skates — Codes FEDSKATE/SHUTDOWN for specials
- The Magic Duel — 30% off tickets
- Mosaic Theater Company — $20 tickets (code SOLIDARITY)
- Museum of the Bible — 50% off walk-up tickets
- National Museum of Women in the Arts — Free admission
- The Lillian & Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum — Free admission
- The Phillips Collection — $10 admission & 10% off shop
- Pinstripes — One free hour of bowling
- Planet Word Museum
- Reginald F. Lewis Museum (Baltimore) — Free admission for federal workers
- Studio Theatre — Discounted tickets (code SHUTDOWN)
- Theatre Washington — Save on DC performances
- Washington Improv Theater — $5 Laugh Riot tickets
- White House Gifts — 10% off (code DCOPEN10)
13 Hotels & Lodging Discounts
- Churchill Hotel — 30% off
- Homewood Suites DC Convention Center — DC is Open deal
- Hotel Zena — special rates
- Lyle Hotel Washington DC — special rates
- Melrose Georgetown Hotel — 30% off
Sources: Partnership for Public Service · VFW · WAEPA · WTOP · Washington.org