ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - The clock is ticking in Washington DC as lawmakers face a midnight deadline to avoid a federal government shutdown. The move could leave hundreds of thousands of workers across the country without paychecks, including thousands in the St. Louis region.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, more than 25,000 federal employees live and work in the bi-state area. Some of those workers would be furloughed, while others deemed “essential,” including TSA officers and air traffic controllers, would be required to work without pay until Congress reaches an agreement.

During the 35-day shutdown in 2018 into 2019, unpaid TSA officers across the country began calling out sick. That forced security lines to back up and even closed terminals at major airp

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