Republican governors urge Senate to avoid shutdown
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Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in June. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders joined 24 other Republican governors in signing a letter on Monday urging the U.S. Senate to avoid a government shutdown.
Why it matters: Thousands of government employees could permanently lose their jobs if Congress doesn't reach an agreement to fund the government by Wednesday, Axios' Hans Nichols reports.
- While not every federal employee's job is at stake, a shutdown could have a financial impact on roughly 14,000 living in Arkansas, according to an analysis by Axios this spring.
What they're saying: "From impacting pay for our troops, first responders, and firefighters, to affecting critical services for seniors and veterans and disrupting food assistance for families in need, a government shutdown would inflict severe consequences on the American people that are completely avoidable," the Republican governors' letter reads.
- "Sign me up as a person that believes we ought to work out our differences and get this thing across the finish line in a bipartisan way, and save America from the drama and the potential horrific consequences of a government shutdown," Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers told Little Rock's THV11 last week.
The University of Arkansas' provost asked the deans, research associate deans and campus business officers to provide alternative funding options for employees and positions tied to active federal grants.
The big picture: Under a government shutdown, non-essential federal functions are suspended. Systems including health programs, Social Security and Medicare; SNAP benefits; Food and Drug Administration inspections and small business loans would be affected, Axios' April Rubin writes.
- All employees — those who stop working and those whose roles are deemed "excepted" — aren't paid during shutdowns. Their paychecks catch up when operations resume.
What we're watching: Ahead of the last potential shutdown, in December 2024, Sanders issued guidance to her cabinet secretaries to ensure continuity of services "vital to the protection of public health, safety, and welfare, while temporarily suspending government services that rely on federal funding."