STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: OK. The timing of the partial government shutdown has pushed one federal employee to the brink. Lindy Lurie processes disability claims for people in Massachusetts. [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: Lurie works for the state of Massachusetts, but her income is dependent on federal funding.]</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: She and her husband are expecting their first child. They used most of their savings to buy a house outside Boston and closed on that house the day before the shutdown.</s>LINDY LURIE: That just kind of says it all, right? I mean, you know, when you have dreams, hopes and wishes of starting your family, and the thought of not being able to clothe and feed and house them because politicians in Washington can't make compromises is really disheartening, very upsetting and very frightening.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Lindy Lurie is an essential employee, so she is still working - just not getting paid.</s>LINDY LURIE: Through my job I get amazing benefits - health insurance and otherwise - and one of those benefits is a short-term disability policy that covers maternity leave. I think that I can take up to four months. So really applying for another job when I'm six months pregnant doesn't seem like a good solution to me. A better solution would be for the government to come to an agreement.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: That's Lindy Lurie, an essential federal employee from Boston.
Communities across the nation are feeling the impact of the partial government shutdown. To learn more, Renee Montagne and Steve Inskeep turn to Americans from all corners of the country to hear how they're coping with a closed government.