Davids Statement on Consequential Government Shutdown

Today, Representative Sharice Davids released the following statement as the federal government ran out of funding, leading to a government shutdown. Davids previously urged House leadership to work across the aisle to safeguard the livelihoods of Kansans and prevent an avoidable shutdown.

“The avoidable government shutdown we’re facing is more than just a political standoff. It will have a severe impact on our economy and cause real harm to hardworking Kansans — delaying payments to our military and federal employees, interrupting Social Security benefits, and increasing hunger among women and children.

“As of now, we’ve seen no serious effort from Republican leadership in Washington to work across the aisle on funding the government. Kansans are already feeling the effects of the administration’s reckless policies — rising prices, lost jobs, and cuts to essential services like health care. A shutdown will only make those challenges worse.

“This moment calls for cooperation from both sides. I will continue pushing for a bipartisan solution to reopen the government and address other critical issues, including protecting health care premium tax credits before they expire and drive costs even higher for families.

“I encourage all Kansans in the Third District affected by the shutdown to visit davids.house.gov/shutdown for helpful resources or to share their stories. While the shutdown may cause processing delays at federal agencies, my team is ready to help however we can.”

Background:

It is a fact that Donald Trump and Republican leaders need Democratic votes to pass any funding bill, but the president openly said, “Don’t even bother dealing with them.” This dismissal of bipartisan negotiations has further complicated efforts to reach a compromise that benefits Kansans and keeps the government open.

Davids continues to push for a bipartisan agreement to open the federal government. A shutdown will have serious impacts on Kansas families and the overall U.S. economy. Americans will face disruptions to important benefits, service members would not be compensated, many small businesses would have to alter their operations, and federal workers would be furloughed and go unpaid. Specifically: 

• It’s estimated the five-week partial government shutdown in 2018-2019 reduced economic output by $11 billion in the following two quarters and the 2013 full government shutdown reduced GDP growth by $20 billion.
• Kansans receiving Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits will experience service delays, including disruptions to verifying benefits and the issuance of new cards.
• There are currently more than 15,000 federal workers in Kansas who may be furloughed. A bipartisan report found that the last three government shutdowns led to the equivalent of 56,940 years in lost productivity from federal workers.
• The distribution of important food assistance programs, including SNAP, will be disrupted, leaving some Kansan — including women, children, and the elderly — without nutritious food.
• Small businesses will encounter delays in receiving loans from the federal government. Moody’s Analytics estimated that the 2018-2019 shutdown delayed more than $2 billion in loans to small businesses.
• Travelers will face longer lines at airport security checkpoints and flight delays during a shutdown, which would also delay passport processing times even further.

Davids also previously urged Congressional leadership to include an extension of the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTCs) in any government funding bill. In Kansas alone, more than 160,000 people relied on these tax credits last year to save an average of $700 annually on their health care. While these credits expire at the end of 2025, House Republican leaders did not include the extension in last week’s package.