“I might have to sell my house soon.”

That’s what Vanitha R, 50, an employee of the US public health agency, National Institutes of Health, feared in October when she was “furloughed” or suspended from work as a result of the government shutdown in the US.

The shutdown began on October 1, after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach a deal on the federal healthcare budget. During a shutdown, many US government services are suspended.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed a funding bill to reopen the government after the House and the Senate approved it earlier this week. However, it will take some time for federal employees to receive their back pay.

As a result of the shutdown, nearly 1.4 million federal employees like Vanitha have been facing a livelihood crisis.

In the

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