HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Break the Cycle VA, a nonprofit based in Virginia Beach, will deliver hot meals to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents at Richmond International Airport who have missed paychecks during the partial government shutdown.
Ralph Gil founded Break the Cycle VA nine months ago to empower youth in schools regardless of their backgrounds.
"With my nonprofit, we try to go to schools in Newport News, Norfolk, Virginia Beach and we have done a bunch of events already. We're always trying to look for more upward opportunities,” Gil said.
Last week, Gil partnered with Plaza Azteca and delivered hot meals to TSA agents at Norfolk International Airport who have gone without pay for more than a month.
"We break the cycle. We want to let whoever works for TSA that you are not forgotten,” Gil said. “The least that we could do is provide them with meals.”
Thursday afternoon, Gil will drive to Richmond International Airport along with Plaza Azteca and deliver lunch to the TSA agents who showed up to work.
“When we went to Norfolk, the TSA agents were really glad for us to be there. They felt really appreciated,” he said.
Gil knows firsthand what it’s like to struggle financially after growing up in the Bronx.
“When I grew up, we slept on the floor. My mom, a single mom, it was hard for her,” he said. “I know what it is sometimes to not have food on the table.”
Pressure mounts on Congress to end the funding shutdown
Pressure is mounting on Congress to end the funding shutdown that's resulted in travel disruptions, missed paychecks and even warnings of airport closures, but lawmakers have yet to resolve the underlying issue of reining in President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement operations.
Senators are expected to vote Thursday on a Republican proposal that would fund the Transportation Security Administration and much of the Department of Homeland Security, except the enforcement and removal operations conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But it's expected to fail.
Democrats argue the GOP plan does not go far enough at putting guardrails on ICE, Customs and Border Protection and other federal officers who are engaged in the Trump administration's immigration sweeps, particularly after the deaths of two Americans protesting the actions in Minneapolis.
With Congress set to leave town by week's end for its own spring break recess, calls are intensifying for an end to the 41-day stalemate that's put the livelihoods of TSA officers at risk as they provide airport security without pay.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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