Dear Neighbor:

Tomorrow, at 12:01 AM, the government will shut down if President Trump and Republicans in Congress fail to take action. Democrats continue to stand ready to negotiate with the GOP to find a solution to keep the government open and protect our constituents from health care cuts and massive premium hikes. Donald Trump and Republicans' policies are recklessly barreling the country toward a painful and wasteful shutdown.

While I continue to do everything I can to avert a government shutdown, I want to be proactive in sharing what a shutdown could mean for our community and how we can all get through this together. My team and I will publish a one-stop resource page on our website with answers to some of the most common questions you may have about a government shutdown.

Please know first that certain basic lifeline government services won’t be affected, like your Medicare, Social Security and VA benefits. It’s also important to know that federal retirees will continue to receive their pensions, and the U.S. Postal Service will not be disrupted.

But if the federal government shuts down, other essential functions Americans depend on will become inaccessible.  Furthermore, many federal employees in our district and across America will be barred from working and will not collect their pay until after the shutdown ends.

Fortunately, due to a 2019 law that I championed and helped pass, federal employees will now automatically receive backpay when a shutdown ends. Nonetheless, a shutdown may halt some contracts with the federal government, hurting small businesses in our community and, if it drags on, even putting some federal contractors out of work.

Other sectors of our public life may also be affected. Depending on the duration of a shutdown, air travel disruptions could proliferate, and Americans could lose access to public resources we treasure, including our national parks and museums, like the Smithsonian, which rely on federal support.

My office will remain available to constituents who need my assistance during a shutdown. Constituents who need assistance with a federal agency can still submit their request directly to our casework team through my website.

 

However, please remember that during a shutdown, federal agencies may be less responsive to my District Office’s attempts to advance your constituent casework. 

I will continue to extend my hand in cooperation to my colleagues across the aisle with the urgent hope that we will avoid the looming government shutdown that would have many devastating consequences for our people.

In solidarity,