White House and Congress Accept Shutdown Fate; Federal Families to Pay the Price this Christmas
Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), representing over 110,000 federal civil service employees, expressed outrage at the failure of the White House and Congress to reach agreement to keep the government open during the holidays. The lapse in funding beginning at midnight tonight affects a large number of executive branch employees from several Cabinet agencies and many independent agencies.
“The holidays just bottomed out for a half-million of America’s public servants and their families,” stated Randy Erwin, NFFE national president. “If the shutdown continues for any length of time, January is going to be a tough month for these middle-class families as they struggle to pay mortgages, credit cards, child care, and other life expenses.”
Standard and Poor estimated that the 2013 partial shutdown cost the economy $1.5 billion a day, on average. This number is not adjusted for inflation today nor does it reflect the impact of higher spending during the holiday season. The daily cost of this partial shutdown could be even higher.
“Even if President Trump and House Republicans refuse to recognize a half-million middle-class working families as a priority for the country, one would think they care about the economy which is already showing signs of free fall,” Erwin continued. “The fact that this shutdown is occurring over the holidays is a disgraceful failure of both the Republican congress and the White House, and it is an affront to the American people. This is especially true considering Republicans had two years of governing to get their priorities done.”