The D.C. government will be offering zero-interest loans of up to $5,000 a month to workers who would be unable to pay their mortgage this month due to the partial federal government shutdown, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Wednesday.
Unfortunately, this unprecedented federal #GovernmentShutdown has created a tremendous amount of economic uncertainty for federal employees and their families, and so we are announcing a $9 Million Program that will help District residents avoid mortgage delinquency. pic.twitter.com/YFrw5J1CAs
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) January 23, 2019
The city’s housing and finance agency will manage the $9 million program, which is part of broader efforts to “step in place” of the federal government, added Bowser.
On Friday, the federal workers were set to go without payment for the second time in a row, before the House approved a plan to reopen the government for three weeks.
“We, perhaps more than anybody, are in the belly of the beast of this shutdown,” Bowser said during a winter meeting of U.S. Conference of Mayors in the capital.
According to the mayor, over 70,000 D.C. residents suffered due to the government shutdown. To be eligible for the loan assistance program, the furloughed workers must have a primary residence in D.C.
“Starting Friday, January 25th, homeowners who are unable to make their next mortgage payment due to the shutdown can call 1-833-429-0537 to apply for up to $5,000 per month in zero percent interest @DCHFA loans,” tweeted D.C. Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon T. Todd.
For more details and applying for the loans, eligible workers can call 833-429-0537 starting Friday.