WATCH: Davids Urges Colleagues to Prioritize Bipartisanship to Avoid Shutdown

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. Without Congressional action, the federal government is set to shut down at 12:01 am ET on March 15, 2025.

“We are just days away from a completely avoidable government shutdown — one that would hurt hardworking Kansans, small businesses, farmers, and families,” said Davids. “Kansans are already feeling the effects of reckless policies — lost jobs, rising grocery and gas prices, and uncertainty for KanCare and Community Health Centers. A shutdown would only make things worse… Instead of governing by crisis, we should be working across the aisle to provide stability and get things done.”

WATCH: Davids speaks on the consequences of a shutdown and urges her colleagues to support a bipartisan path forward 

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 KanCare benefits would experience service delays, including disruptions to verifying benefits and the issuance of new cards.
• Kansas’ 15,000+ federal workers 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.
  • This is on top of President Trump’s recent attacks on federal workers, causing many to lose their jobs.
• The distribution of important food assistance programs, including SNAP, could be disrupted, leaving some Kansans — 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.

In today’s message, Davids highlights the chaos in Washington exacerbated by President Trump’s policies, particularly those driving up prices. Earlier this week, she criticized the President’s tariff policies, warning that they "could raise costs for hardworking folks and put even more pressure on our agricultural sector." She also voted against a reckless budget plan that targets the middle class and Medicaid while giving massive tax breaks to big corporations and the ultra-wealthy.

Davids serves on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, which is responsible for reauthorizing the Farm Bill before it expires on September 30, 2025. She has expressed concern that the dysfunction in Washington, which would be worsened by a government shutdown, could delay the reauthorization, jeopardizing farmers’ ability to run their businesses and driving up costs.