Federal workers struggling to pay their bills as they brace for a second-straight month without pay soon could be getting help from Delaware lawmakers.

The Delaware House on Tuesday passed two bills that would give more than 500 furloughed workers in the state access to low-interest loans and help protect them from eviction so long as the longest federal government shutdown in history drags on.

The measures now head to the Senate, which could vote on both as early as Wednesday.

Gov. John Carney is backing the legislation.

"For federal workers, including many of our neighbors here in Delaware, bills don't just stop coming because the federal government is shut down," he said. "We ought to do what we can to help these workers and their families."

Both bills were passed by the House minutes after being introduced Tuesday, an unusual maneuver that sidesteps the usual committee hearing process. House Democrats said that quick action was needed to get the programs in place before the Legislature breaks in February.

"Every day I wake up hoping it will be over and it's not over," House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, said of the federal shutdown. "We're running out of time for us ... so we want to get something out there because I don't see an end to this thing."

The first measure, which passed the House unanimously, would encourage banks and nonprofits to provide state-backed, low-interest loans to federal workers.

M&T Bank, for instance, reportedly has signed on to provide loans worth a month's net pay up to $5,000 at an interest rate of 2.5 percent – loans that would be guaranteed by the state. Workers from West End Neighborhood House would accept applications for the loan program at nearly a dozen locations throughout the state and provide optional financial counseling.

The second bill would allow those same federal workers – along with federal contractors – to petition the court to have their rent, mortgage or insurance premium suspended or cap the interest rate on any debts incurred before the shutdown began at 6 percent. Judges could grant those protections from the start of the shutdown until 120 days after it ends.

Four Republicans balked at that legislation, including freshman state Rep. Bryan Shupe, R-Milford.

"I voted yes for the loan because it's something that will be paid back after the shutdown is done," he said. "But as far as telling private businesses they have to suspend their income, I don't think that's right. I don't want to see the state extend its reach into the private market."

The swift action being taken by the Delaware General Assembly comes just after the 30-day mark of the federal government shutdown – the result of a standoff between President Donald Trump and Congressional Democrats over funding for his long-promised border wall.

Nationwide, some 420,000 "essential" federal employees are working without pay but will receive their salaries once the shutdown ends. Another 380,000 have been ordered to stay home and will not be compensated.

Several cities and states have undertaken efforts to assist those workers, many of which are considering or have approved loan programs similar to the one expected to be debated by Delaware legislators later today.

Last week, the state labor department also announced it had extended unemployment insurance protections to federal employees affected by the shutdown and began accepting applications for benefits from those workers on Friday.

Nearly 150,000 people in Delaware who now receive help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, also could see their benefits cut off in March if the federal shutdown continues through February.

Schwartzkopf said lawmakers currently have no plans for replacing those lost federal benefits with state funds.

"I would love to take care of everybody," he said. "The bottom line is we know we have federal workers who have been told not to come to work or are working without pay and we're trying to make sure they don't lose their cars, their houses or anything like that."

This is a developing story that will be updated as more information become available.

Contact reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.

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