In a letter sent last week, members of the Alabama Legislature asked the U.S. Senate to swiftly pass a short-term funding extension to prevent a government shutdown.

The lawmakers first stressed the negative impact a shutdown could have on Alabamians, particularly the state's veterans.

"While holding federal funding hostage might seem like a viable strategy for advancing partisan reforms, the actual outcome is devastating for the everyday Americans you swore on Earth to serve in Alabama," the group wrote, according to a letter obtained by Alabama Daily News' Alex Angle.

"We have more than 400,000 veterans who depend on federally funded services. Similarly, military personnel, the men and women defending our country, depend on their hard-earned pay to support their families, but that isn

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