Barber at Buffalo Niagara International Airport offers free haircuts to TSA agents during shutdown

Hamdi Ismail is offering free haircuts to TSA agents and military members, as some federal workers have gone weeks without pay during the ongoing partial government shutdown. (WKBW via CNN Newsource)

CHEEKTOWAGA, New York (WKBW) -- At the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, a simple haircut is becoming something more.

For more than a decade, Hamdi Ismail has been behind the chair. Now, he is offering free haircuts to TSA agents and military members, as some federal workers have gone weeks without pay during the ongoing partial government shutdown.

“It’s one team, it’s not anything else, it’s one team. We work together,” said Ismail.

The shutdown is at the center of a political standoff in Washington. A bipartisan deal to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security passed in the Senate, but was quickly rejected by House Republicans, who say it does not go far enough on immigration enforcement.

Lawmakers in the House are now working on a short-term funding plan instead.

New York Senator Chuck Schumer placed blame on Republicans for the delay.

“This could have been accomplished weeks ago if Republicans hadn’t stood in the way,” said Schumer.

Meanwhile, Western New York Congressman Nick Langworthy says his focus is on the workers impacted by the shutdown.

“I’m focused on getting the TSA agents paid,” said Langworthy. “I believe this is a national security gap, to have an agency with really low morale that hasn’t been paid in five to six weeks. They are our first line of defense.”

While negotiations continue in Washington, the impact in Buffalo looks different from that in some other parts of the country.

There have been no major delays reported at the airport, but for TSA workers still waiting on a paycheck, support is showing up in other ways.

“Buffalo is always together, no matter what we do, you always have somebody behind you to help you,” said Ismail. “That’s Buffalo.”

By Jiovanni Lieggi.