AUSTIN, Texas - It happened in 2013, and it was looming again Friday night.

A government shutdown means frozen pay and benefits for millions of Americans.

The impact could be huge in Texas.

In 2013, the shutdown lasted 17 days and closed 14 national parks across Texas. It also furloughed hundreds of thousands of employees from major federal entities such as FEMA and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Hopefully the VA doesn’t shut down and I can make my appointments with them,” veteran Stacey Etheredge said.

Military attorney Sean Timmons thinks a shutdown in 2018 would be much more devastating than the one in 2013.

“The VA will stop processing disability applications. The VA will stop processing education benefits and Social Security benefits and Social Security disability for our wounded warriors,” Timmons said.

Timmons worries that if the shutdown happens, service members across Texas’ 18 military bases and posts will be hard-pressed to make ends meet. That would be felt around the state.

“The bottom line is for the government shutdown, the collateral effect will be not just for the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that won’t get paid - their landlords won’t get paid. Their banks won’t get paid. Their daycare providers won’t get paid,” Timmons said.

The House approved a bill to keep the government open on Thursday. Now it’s the Senate’s turn. No matter their decision, lawmakers on Capitol Hill will still have paychecks coming in.

“That, I think, is really unfair. Especially (with) the amount of money they make, they should never shut down,” Etheredge said.