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The Maryland Transit Administration is offering federal workers who are working without pay free rides on MARC trains, MTA commuter buses, and Baltimore buses, subways and light rail, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Thursday.
The state will also be collecting canned food to support area food banks.
Hogan announced the assistance after speaking with federal workers at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. He toured the terminals, thanking Transportation Security Administration workers and other federal employees and promising to help them during the shutdown.
He paused near a security checkpoint to speak with a Homeland Security police officer.
“I’m coming by here today just to let you know how much we appreciate you, how important you are, and we’re here to back you up in any way we possibly can,” he told the officer.
After his tour, he told reporters forcing workers in the Coast Guard, air traffic control, the Federal Air Marshal Service and the Department of Homeland Security to work without pay creates a safety risk.
“The whole issue is about border security, and yet we’re going to leave our airports and our coasts with no security,” he said. “It makes no sense.”
He said he blames leaders of both parties in Washington for the shutdown.