Government Shutdown Has Minimal Effect Locally
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jordan Fouts-
The regional offices for Reps. Marlin Stutzman and Jackie Walorski are just two casualties of the partial shutdown of the federal government enacted Tuesday. Across the country, government agencies were shut down, services suspended and employees furloughed as the result of congressional failure to reach an agreement on funding.
Calls to Stutzman’s Winona Lake and Fort Wayne offices are greeted with a recording that cites the shutdown as the reason the locations are unmanned. Phones at Walorski’s Rochester and Mishawaka offices respond with a generic missed call message.
Neither representative’s Twitter feed had updated as of press time. Websites and social media for many government agencies, from the census to the Library of Congress, have gone dark.
Leading up to the shutdown, both representatives released statements chiding the Senate for not approving any House funding bill, though each version the House offered demanded concessions on the federal health law on the eve of its rollout. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid responded with demands for a “clean” version of the funding bill.
Walorski supported a House bill Tuesday to continue funding for veterans and national parks and museums, while Stutzman volunteered to forego pay during the shutdown in a letter to the congressional chief administrative officer.
Statewide effects of the shutdown include the closure of national parks, including the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the furlough of many of 23,000 federal civilian employees and 12,000 Indiana National Guard members, according to indystar.com Services such as Social Security and the Federal Housing Administration are serving Indiana residents in a limited capacity.
Kosciusko County officials say they don’t see many local effects, at least not yet.
County Auditor Marsha McSherry said she’s waiting to see how the shutdown will affect grants or other federal money the county receives, but has no concrete information at this point. Sgt. Chad Hill, with the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department, also said he hasn’t heard yet how the shutdown might affect his department, but hasn’t seen any impact as of today.
Bob Sanders, county council president, said this morning he’s given the shutdown some thought but doesn’t see any immediate concern.
“We don’t get a lot of that federal money,” he remarked. “I don’t see anything right now. We’re doing just fine, we’re rolling on.”
This morning, Stutzman introduced the GARDS Act, “Guard Appropriation Restoration During Shutdown Act.” The act would make sure National Guard is paid during the government shutdown.
“The men and women who serve in our nation’s National Guard and their families should not be victims of President Obama and Senate Democrats’ shutdown,” Stutzman said in a news release.
Walorski’s D.C. office phone number is 202-225-3915, and Stutzman’s is 202-225-4436.[[In-content Ad]]
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The regional offices for Reps. Marlin Stutzman and Jackie Walorski are just two casualties of the partial shutdown of the federal government enacted Tuesday. Across the country, government agencies were shut down, services suspended and employees furloughed as the result of congressional failure to reach an agreement on funding.
Calls to Stutzman’s Winona Lake and Fort Wayne offices are greeted with a recording that cites the shutdown as the reason the locations are unmanned. Phones at Walorski’s Rochester and Mishawaka offices respond with a generic missed call message.
Neither representative’s Twitter feed had updated as of press time. Websites and social media for many government agencies, from the census to the Library of Congress, have gone dark.
Leading up to the shutdown, both representatives released statements chiding the Senate for not approving any House funding bill, though each version the House offered demanded concessions on the federal health law on the eve of its rollout. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid responded with demands for a “clean” version of the funding bill.
Walorski supported a House bill Tuesday to continue funding for veterans and national parks and museums, while Stutzman volunteered to forego pay during the shutdown in a letter to the congressional chief administrative officer.
Statewide effects of the shutdown include the closure of national parks, including the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the furlough of many of 23,000 federal civilian employees and 12,000 Indiana National Guard members, according to indystar.com Services such as Social Security and the Federal Housing Administration are serving Indiana residents in a limited capacity.
Kosciusko County officials say they don’t see many local effects, at least not yet.
County Auditor Marsha McSherry said she’s waiting to see how the shutdown will affect grants or other federal money the county receives, but has no concrete information at this point. Sgt. Chad Hill, with the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department, also said he hasn’t heard yet how the shutdown might affect his department, but hasn’t seen any impact as of today.
Bob Sanders, county council president, said this morning he’s given the shutdown some thought but doesn’t see any immediate concern.
“We don’t get a lot of that federal money,” he remarked. “I don’t see anything right now. We’re doing just fine, we’re rolling on.”
This morning, Stutzman introduced the GARDS Act, “Guard Appropriation Restoration During Shutdown Act.” The act would make sure National Guard is paid during the government shutdown.
“The men and women who serve in our nation’s National Guard and their families should not be victims of President Obama and Senate Democrats’ shutdown,” Stutzman said in a news release.
Walorski’s D.C. office phone number is 202-225-3915, and Stutzman’s is 202-225-4436.[[In-content Ad]]
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