A government shutdown means federal employees miss paychecks. That’s a real hardship for the families they support, and it hurts communities across the country. Thousands of families turn to food banks when their government paychecks stop coming in during a shutdown. This is a national disgrace, and we call on Congress to put aside partisan gamesmanship and pass a clean continuing resolution.
The Senate will hold its 14th procedural vote to advance the House-passed CR at 11:30 a.m. It requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, so the vote will need bipartisan support to succeed.
If the Senate fails to act, funding for all federal agencies will lapse at midnight and all services will be interrupted. That will impact air traffic control, TSA operations, disaster relief, rental assistance programs, Small Business Administration loans, rural health clinics and more.
Some civilian federal workers who are deemed essential continue to work during a shutdown, but they are not paid. Others are put on furlough. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency’s inspectors are still on the job, but without support staff, their capacity to perform essential work has been reduced.
State and local safety nets such as LIHEAP, Head Start, and other social services are at risk of running out of funds if the shutdown goes on for too long. States can only front money to keep these services running and hope for reimbursement when the shutdown ends, but they can do that for only so long.
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