Nearly 2,000 Hill staffers on Capitol Hill will get an unpleasant surprise on Oct. 1 if there’s a shutdown — and it’s not just a furlough notice.

Staff enrolled in the student loan repayment assistance program offered by the House and Senate won’t have their payments go out, a Democratic leadership aide told chiefs of staff Tuesday, according to two people who were briefed. The pause in that program comes as millions of Americans are set to resume student loan payments next week after a multi-year freeze started during the pandemic.

House aides are expected to get more details Wednesday evening, when they receive a full briefing from the House Administration Committee about the broader impacts of a shutdown.

The House and Senate Student Loan Repayment Program is funded by Congress’ annual legislative branch spending bill, which like all the other government funding bills has not been passed.

The funds to provide staff with the loan repayment benefit come from a central account administered by the House Chief Administrative Officer and the secretary of the Senate — not from the participating office or committee budget.

The program allows House offices to allocate up to $833 in loan repayment benefits per employee per month. The House recently increased the lifetime limit of the benefit to $80,000 from $60,000.

The House and Senate Student Loan Repayment Program has continued making payments even during the pandemic freeze. That has allowed more bang for staffers’ bucks as interest has not been accruing during the freeze.

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