WASHINGTON, USA — More than 116,000 federal employees living in Washington state could lose their paychecks should the government shut down on Saturday.
According to Sen. Patty Murray's office (D-Washington), there are 52,526 federal workers and 62,100 military personnel who will be furloughed or forced to work without pay if Republicans and Democrats can't come to an agreement on a spending bill to keep the government open. Another 1,326 Transportation Security Administration workers and 327 air traffic controllers will be forced to work without pay. The shutdown would also delay 47 long-term disaster recovery projects.
In addition, government-funded services like childcare from Head Start, loans for farmers and small businesses, National Institute of Health trials, community health centers and mental health services will also be unavailable during the shutdown.
In a media call on Friday, Murray emphasized that a bi-partisan bill had passed through the Senate, but the plan was rejected by House Republicans.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s right-flank Republicans refused to support the bill despite its steep spending cuts of nearly 30% to many agencies and severe border security provisions, calling it insufficient. A government shutdown seems certain as some House Republicans refuse to pass McCarthy's plan.
If an agreement is not passed, the government will shut down at midnight on Saturday.
The package McCarthy is pushing would not cut the Defense, Veterans or Homeland Security departments but would have slashed almost all other agencies by up to 30% — steep hits to a vast array of programs, services and departments Americans routinely depend on.
It also added strict new border security provisions that would kickstart building the wall at the southern border with Mexico, among other measures. Additionally, the package would set up a bipartisan debt commission to address the nation's mounting debt load.