The Prince George’s County Council is looking to provide resources to laid off federal employees, despite its own funding challenges.

The council unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday to help federal workers left without jobs. But the approved bill was a scaled down version of the initial aid package District 6 council member Wala Blegay introduced earlier this year.

“We want our federal workers to know we don’t have the funding to do as much as we want, but we are trying to do what we can,” Blegay said.

The Trump administration’s federal worker layoffs have cut more than 15,000 Maryland jobs, which is the largest decline in the country, according to a statement by Gov. Wes Moore. This has notably impacted Prince George’s County, which is home to about 70,000 federal employees and contractors.

The federal government also went into a shutdown on Oct. 1 after lawmakers could not reach a budget agreement. This has left some federal employees without pay, according to the Associated Press.

The bill is set to give laid off qualified employees priority hiring for county government jobs and to provide access to free career training through Prince George’s County Community College. The bill will also establish a food assistance database to make it easier for residents to use food banks throughout the county.

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The original version of the bill included a $1,000 check to each laid off worker, according to Blegay. But the county could not afford it, Blegay added, so it was taken out.

Other parts of the bill were removed, such as a tax incentive offered to local businesses that hire laid off workers and a food voucher program, Blegay said. The county needs state approval for the tax credit and plans to meet with state leaders to try to offer this to residents in the future, Blegay added.

“The county cannot do all that we wish we could do but this is a step in the right direction for the public servants who’ve given their lives to serving this country and now they’re being treated as less than,” said council chair Edward Burroughs III, who serves District 8, while voting in favor of the bill.

Three residents spoke in support of the bill and said it would help them financially after being laid off. Kanessa Walker said she was laid off last week from her job as a diversity program specialist.

“I am a home owner in this county who depends on my pay check to pay my mortgage and my other bills. I am now scrambling to find a new position so I can have income and health insurance,” Walker said. “This bill would greatly help myself and thousands of others get back on our feet.”

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On Wednesday, District 2 council member Wanika Fisher and District 5 council member Shayla Adams-Stafford held their own virtual town meetings to discuss resources available to residents impacted by the federal government shutdown.

Both meetings had presentations to educate residents on their tenant rights, relief assistance programs from energy companies and billing options while experiencing financial stress.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Fisher said she wants the county to be “laser focused” on working towards economic independence from the federal government.

Blegay said the county government is trying to accomplish this by looking into ways to expand the county’s tech and sport industries.

“We have to build an economy that withstands D.C., that withstands 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” Fisher said.