WASHINGTON — They provide medical care for veterans and assistance to seniors on Social Security. They operate dams in local waterways and research some of the country’s most vexing energy problems. They screen passengers at the airport and deliver the mail.

And as lawmakers squabble in Washington, their paychecks may be showing up blank.

More than 19,000 people in the eight-county Pittsburgh metro area work for the federal government, collecting $480 million in quarterly wages in positions that, on average, far exceed the median salary, according to the latest available quarterly census of employment and wages.

But the federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1 has extended so long that many employees have now missed at least one full paycheck — a reality that’s ramping up the fina

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