What a federal government shutdown would mean for San Francisco
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A federal government shutdown is getting closer to reality.
State of play: The House is expected to try to pass a stopgap spending bill on Friday, giving lawmakers Saturday to head off a shutdown.
Why it matters: The impacts on California, with its federal civilian employee workforce of about 142,000, would be myriad. The state has one of the highest concentrations of federal employees in the U.S. as well as thousands of residents who work in the military or as federal contractors.
- For federal employees, the effects would be immediate and obvious. Most would be furloughed without pay.
- Workers deemed essential, like law enforcement and air traffic controllers, would be required to remain on the job, similarly without pay.
- It could also lead to a loss of benefits for the over 972,400 California families who receive federal food assistance.
Zoom in: Federal employees comprised 2% of the overall workforce in the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metro area last year, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
- That's a little over 49,000 people who would be impacted by a shutdown.
- If unaverted, it would also affect national parks, potentially leading to the closures of popular tourist destinations like Yosemite National Park and Muir Woods National Monument, which closed or limited access during the 2019 shutdown.
Of note: San Francisco's annual Fleet Week is likely to face disruption if Congress fails to reach an agreement by this weekend.
- Programming for the popular event, which celebrates uniformed service members, is set to kick off Monday and continue through Oct. 10.
- "San Francisco Fleet Week is standing by to take guidance from the Navy and our other military partners," Fleet Week Executive Director Lewis Loeven said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle. "We'll make adjustments as needed as we receive guidance."
The big picture: Federal workers have always received back pay after the government reopens, but making it that long without a paycheck can present a challenge depending on how long a shutdown lasts.
- When the last shutdown in 2019 stretched 35 days, federal employees in the D.C. area were left lining up at food banks and soup kitchens.
- A shutdown would also have other ripple effects across the country, from travel delays at airports to delayed food safety inspections by the FDA.
Go deeper: Social Security, Medicare, SNAP benefits and more in the balance