Speaker of the House Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, introduced legislation to protect federal workers in Delaware. (Cape Gazette)

Gov. John Carney recently signed legislation allowing furloughed and unpaid federal employees living in Delaware to apply for a temporary suspension of rent; health, life and disability insurance premiums; and other debt obligations for the duration of the government shutdown. Legislation to provide federal employees state-guaranteed, low-interest loans failed to pass by one vote in the Senate. An estimated 1,000 Delawareans with disabilities are in the federal workforce.