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'I'm a failure' | Federal employee says she can't afford to help her kids

Amy Dominguez loves her job, but she said it's been stressful since the shutdown.

AUSTIN, Texas — Amy Dominguez, a file clerk with the IRS, said the past few weeks have been stressful. 

She got called back into work on Friday -- but she still hasn't received any pay. 

Dominguez said she loves her job and has worked there for 10 years. 

She said the 2013 shutdown was, "Not as stressful. We knew we'd eventually get paid."

"Eventually" is a tough word for Dominguez to hear nowadays.

"People saying, 'Well, eventually you'll get paid.' 'Eventually' is not a vocabulary word we want to use because eventually creditors are going to say, 'We need your money, we need that payment.' If you don't have that payment, they're going to come," Dominguez said. So, all the what if's -- and you can't live life on what if's," Dominguez said.

RELATED: Trump to make 'major announcement' on shutdown, border crisis

Two of her daughters ended up in the hospital shortly after the shutdown began, and she said she felt like a failure because she couldn't offer to help.

Dominguez said she hopes the shutdown will come to a close soon.

"And we can all get back on track," she said. "But in the meantime, we're just waiting."

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