WATCH: Davids Implores Colleagues to Commit to Bipartisanship Over Dysfunction

Today, Representative Sharice Davids released a video message reminding her colleagues of the real consequences of a government shutdown and calling for a bipartisan funding agreement that protects Kansans' jobs, health, and safety. Last week, Davids urged U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to recommit to the fiscally responsible, bipartisan funding agreement that Congress and the administration negotiated this past May. Without Congressional action, the federal government is set to shut down at 12:01 am ET on October 1, 2023.

“A shutdown is a devastating blow to our economy and represents real consequences for hardworking Kansans, including delays to paying our active service members and interruptions to Social Security benefits,” said Davids. “Folks back home are already struggling with higher prices on groceries and gas. They hardly need more stress and uncertainty. I implore my colleagues to join me in working across the aisle to advance legislation that prevents a costly, harmful, and avoidable government shutdown, and to pass bipartisan legislation that reauthorize the FAA and Farm Bill.”

WATCH: Rep. Davids speaks on the devastating impact of a shutdown and urges her colleagues to support a bipartisan path forward.

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Davids continues to push for a bipartisan agreement to keep the government open. A shutdown would have serious impacts on Kansas families and the overall U.S. economy. Americans would 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 would experience service delays, including disruptions to verifying benefits and the issuance of new cards.
• There are currently 19,977 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, could be disrupted, leaving some Kansan — including women, children, and the elderly — without nutritious food.
• Small businesses may 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 could face longer lines at airport security checkpoints and flight delays during a shutdown, which would also delay passport processing times even further.

Davids serves on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Agriculture Committee, which are responsible for overseeing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Farm Bill reauthorizations, respectively. Both reauthorizations are set to expire after September 30, alongside general federal government funding. Without further action from Congress, these expirations would negatively impact Kansans’ ability to support their families and run their businesses.