“As Speaker McCarthy and his MAGA Chaos Caucus look ever more likely to plunge the federal government into a shutdown, it’s worth remembering how avoidable all of this is. After bringing the country within days of a disastrous default on the federal government’s debt, Speaker McCarthy hashed out an imperfect deal with President Biden to avoid exactly this situation. The Speaker – caving to far-right radicals – is indicating that he will abandon his own deal and also reject the Senate’s bipartisan effort to stave off a shutdown.
“The group calling the shots in the House does not like government and does not want to govern, and real Rhode Island families could feel real economic pain as a result. We will be working through the weekend in Washington to keep trying to find a way to prevent a shutdown and to ready plans to assist Rhode Islanders in the event McCarthy chooses to defund the government.”
A prolonged shutdown of the federal government threatens to:
- Force the 3,700 servicemembers in Rhode Island and all our military and federal law enforcement officers to work without pay;
- Affect the 18,000 women and children in Rhode Island who rely on WIC services for nutrition;
- Restrict resources to veterans and close regional VA offices;
- Prohibit the Social Security Administration from providing proof of income so seniors can apply for loans or housing;
- Delay an estimated $392,500 in financing for Ocean State small businesses each day;
- Deny children early education and child care for families by eliminating Head Start slots;
- Jam up airport travel;
- Slow development of defense technologies being built in Rhode Island;
- Undermine research on cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other deadly diseases;
- Delay safe drinking water, food, and clean air inspections;
- Cut off the review and approval of Small Business Administration loans;
- Endanger FEMA response for new disasters and halt long-term recovery projects; and
- Freeze OSHA workplace safety inspections, putting Rhode Island workers at risk.
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Meaghan McCabe, (202) 224-2921
