Maine and the rest of the nation went through it two years ago. We’re familiar with the consequences, and we know a federal government shutdown isn’t something worth repeating.
Congressional leaders are charting a course that can allow government to remain funded and operational Oct. 1, but there’s no guarantee yet the maneuvers will come together as planned.
Senate Republicans on Thursday attempted to pass a spending bill to keep the government operating but cut off federal funds to Planned Parenthood. Democrats and a handful of Republicans, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins, appropriately refused to advance the spending bill. Independent Sen. Angus King also voted to keep the bill from advancing.
Taxpayers deserve a fully operational federal government, not a government — as many Republicans would have — that operates only on the condition that one organization, wrongly singled out based on lies, is deprived of the federal funds it uses to provide critical health care services to low-income women.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and retiring House Speaker John Boehner are taking steps to bring “clean” funding resolutions to their chambers to keep government running, Planned Parenthood funding and all. (Maine Rep. Bruce Poliquin signed onto a letter earlier this week urging House Republicans to support a measure to keep the federal government running.)
But if the spending bill doesn’t make it through Congress in time, it’s worth revisiting what happened two years ago, when the federal government shut down for 16 days over Republican attempts to defund the Affordable Care Act, to remind ourselves of the consequences.
— Standard & Poor’s estimated the last shutdown amounted to a $24 billion economic blow to the U.S. during a slow and uneven recovery. Based on Maine’s share of the national economy, that worked out to a $72 million economic blow in Maine.
— But there’s reason to think the hit to Maine’s economy could have been larger. The website WalletHub ranked Maine fifth on a list of states most affected by a government shutdown. Maine’s high concentration of seniors and veterans dependent on regular government checks, its businesses’ disproportionate dependence on Small Business Administration loans, the high number of real estate transactions held up by a furloughed Federal Housing Administration and the presence of the popular — and closed — Acadia National Park contributed to Maine’s susceptibility.
— A number of Maine state employees are already feeling a potential shutdown’s effects. The state has issued 55 layoff notices to employees, although the layoffs won’t happen if Congress passes a funding bill. Two years ago, state employees who make Social Security disability benefit determinations temporarily lost their jobs during the shutdown. Gov. Paul LePage became the only governor in the nation to declare a civil emergency.
— This year, families that depend on food stamps are facing the prospect that the government will cut off assistance payments. Two years ago, the government used contingency funds to keep making payments; this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says those funds have been exhausted. Nearly 200,000 Mainers receive food stamp benefits.
This unsavory list of consequences, replicated in every state, should be reason enough for Congress to come together in favor of a clean spending bill. Whether enough members of Congress agree is still an open question.
And even if Congress avoids this crisis, the relief will only be temporary.
Congress is considering a measure that would fund the government through Dec. 11, meaning this fight could repeat itself two-and-a-half months from now.
To add to that, the Treasury Department predicts the government will need renewed borrowing authority next month so it can pay its bills. Also at the end of October, Congress’ three-month funding patch for the Highway Trust Fund will expire.
It’s long been clear that Congress is governing crisis to crisis. If only its members could debate a forward-looking vision for the country rather than extract conditions to avert the next crisis.
