WASHINGTON – At the outset of the government shutdown earlier this month, several federal agencies gave their employees official letters explaining the shutdown to their bill collectors. The Social Security Administration’s letter says Congress and the president haven’t reached an agreement on federal appropriations, meaning the agency can’t pay employees. The shutdown “will make it exceedingly difficult for many employees to meet their financial obligations,” the letter says. “Any assistance you could provide in arranging the postponement, temporary reduction, or rescheduling of payments for any current financial obligation with your organization is appreciated.”The document asks its recipient “for your assistance at a time of personal financial hardship” for the employee. Two Social Security employees shared their creditor letter with HuffPost. The missives named the employees and were signed by their direct supervisors. Other federal agencies, including the Labor Department and the Treasury Department, have posted similar letter templates on their employee resource webpages this month. The Department of Transportation has a letter from the 2019 shutdown on its website.The letters have no actual power to force creditors, such as banks or credit card companies, to go easy on federal employees. The documents merely beg kindness for employees whom federal agencies are powerless to pay.“We hope this letter will help ease any financial burden DOL employees may experience as a result of their furlough,” the Labor Department letter says. “We ask that you remain patient and show compassion towards DOL furloughed employees during this time.”The Social Security Administration said the letter is a normal part of its shutdown routine. “It is standard practice for SSA to prepare and issue letters to creditors to all employees in the event of a government lapse in appropriation,” an agency spokesperson said in an email. As many as 750,000 federal employees have been furloughed each day since the shutdown started, with thousands fired outright and none receiving their salaries. The first payday since the shutdown started was on Friday, when most employees received only partial paychecks. One Social Security employee told HuffPost he had offered to show the letter to his mortgage lender, but they didn’t want to see it. “‘I have this letter that shows that I am a federal employee, and this is what’s going on,’” the employee said he told his lender. “Well, they had no interest in that.”He also tried it on his car loan. “They’re like, ‘Well, you know, that letter doesn’t really, nothing we can do with that,’” he said.There’s no end to the shutdown in sight. Democrats have refused to go along with a regular short-term funding bill unless Republicans agree to extend expiring health insurance subsidies. Republicans haven’t budged from their demand that Democrats vote for the regular funding bill. The Trump administration has taken steps to mitigate some effects of the shutdown, such as by rearranging federal funds to pay active-duty troops and to maintain a special nutrition program for pregnant women and nursing mothers. At the same time, the administration has suggested furloughed workers would not necessarily receive back pay, contrary to federal law. Nevertheless, the notes to creditors tell them the shutdown will be temporary and that their debtors will eventually be paid. “On behalf of SSA, I want to assure you that this is a temporary situation beyond our employees’ control and that they will be returned to pay status as soon as possible,” the letter says.