and the president keeps getting paid, as do members of congress, much to the annoyance of elizabeth witel. her family's sole bred winner since her husband was laid off last month. >> congress needs to grow up. i mean, to be honest with you, if they had to live on what most of us work at and live on, they couldn't make it. >> reporter: the last time there was a government shutdown, congress voted to give workers retroactive pay. this time, there are no guarantees what is going to happen. brian? >> a lot of similar sentiment out there tonight. john yang starting us off from chicago. >>> now back to the question we posed at the top of the broadcast, how long does this go on? nbc's kelly o'donnell covering capitol hill for us. >> reporter: good evening. the mood mere is get ready for a standoff. that doesn't mean nothing is happening. tonight republicans are try ing to open popular parts of the parks, like the smithsonian, offering money for veterans' programs and to fund the operation in the district of columbia. but democrats say no comparing it to a release one hostage at a time strategy.