If politicians can’t agree on the budget the federal government will shut down tonight at midnight. And if it does, nearly 75-thousand active duty Georgia military personnel will feel the pinch immediately.

When the government shut down in 1995, members of the military kept working and getting paid. Not this time says Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaking Thursday to soldiers in Iraq.

“If the government shutdown starts on the 8th and goes for a week, you’d get half a check. If it goes from the 15th to the 30th you wouldn’t get a paycheck on the 30th but you would be back paid for all of it.”

Meanwhile, “essential” workers like doctors would work without pay and get back pay when the government re-opens. “Non essential” workers such as engineers would be furloughed without pay. Georgia’s annual military payroll is more than 4-billion dollars a year.

Tags: Georgia, Military pay, government shutdown