This is an affluent commuter town, sitting in Fairfax County, one of the wealthest areas of the country. But even here, they are worried. If an America's credit rating is downgraded, interest rates are like to grow, making loans the big-ticket items like cars more expensive. Business man Kaye Bush blames politics for the impasse.
"It's just a shame that you gonna use this for their own political reasons, you know, because you have a, you know, presidential election next year and so on, and everybody wants to come out as a hero, you know, in the end, you know."
Mortgage rates could also rise further, hobbling America's struggling housing market.
"But it is not just businesses that are concerned about the stalemate. A few miles down the road in Washington, what about those that rely on the government for their weekly paychecks to settle their bills. Take for example, pensioners."
At the buzzing Herndon senior center, many have witnessed congressional gymnastics before. But here there is anger the politicians aren't doing their job.
"This is very difficult for all of us to sit down and watch. They need to come to some compromise. We are not saying that you should agree to all the Democrats with their requesting, but the Republics should also think about the people and move a little bit and compromise with the people."
There is a genuine concern a partial default could affect their government pension with some contemplating the unthinkable.
"We are in a state right now a fear. "
"You know, my philosophy is I'm gonna have to work till I check out."
"We got five days, we got five days before this problem is got to be settled. Otherwise I'm gonna start making an arrangement somewhere, cause I can't pay my rent. There is no way. I would just make, make enough out of my pension to pay my rent. That's it. But I wouldn't be able to eat. You can't eat, you can't look for a job, you can't buy gas, run the car, you can't go find a job. It's like a domino effect."
"87, it's kind of hard to find a job, anyway. I'm lucky, I still have one."
"I just stopped working about six months ago. This is so hard, it is. You get loan, even with social security and another pension. I can just make it. "
Down the road at the County's enormous headquarters there is also apprehension. The area relies on big government projects, feeding cash into its economy. If those stop, the County's own AAA credit rating could also be downgraded.
"We are doing nothing wrong. We are paying our bills, we are balancing our budget, and yet, we could be negatively impacted, unable to finance some of the capital projects that our constituents are looking forward to."
Herndon's jitters are reflected across the nation as politicians continue to squabble. America and many of its most vulnerable citizens are facing an uncertain future.
Robert Nisbet, Sky News, Herndon
