NORTHAMPTON — Social Security checks will continue to be sent out. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits should remain in place. Doctors and nurses will ensure care is still offered to people at the Northampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
While the federal government shutdown’s impacts on Hampshire County may not be dramatic, even as many of the region’s federal workers are furloughed, there could be curtailed or delayed applications for Medicaid benefits, small business loans and passports, a hold up in research grants provided to the University of Massachusetts and an eventual pause in funding for programs like Women, Infants & Children Nutrition.
“The bottom line is anything funded by the federal government, anything requiring authorization from the federal government, could be stopped,” U.S. Rep. James McGovern said in a phone interview from Washington, D.C. Wednesday morning.
Hours after the beginning of the first federal shutdown in almost seven years, McGovern said he and his fellow Democrats were not willing to sign onto any budget deal allowing for steep increases in health care premiums to be implemented, and that Republicans own the shutdown because they have majorities in both chambers of Congress, and also occupy the White House.
“Democrats are in town and trying to avoid this situation, but there’s no Republicans to talk to,” McGovern said. “We’re here ready and willing to work, while Republicans are on vacation at their homes, laying on the couch.”
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal put out a resource guide on his website, along with a statement pledging to get the government back up and running.
“I remain committed to doing everything I can to reopen the government for Massachusetts’ First District and the nation,” Neal said. “Until an agreement is reached, I want to provide the most up-to-date information to help you navigate the challenges of this shutdown.”
Among the affected federal agencies are the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Farm Service Agency, the Small Business Administration and the Veterans Administration, while air traffic controllers will be doing their job without pay, though they will get their earnings once the shutdown is over.
Hampshire County’s federal workers are mostly at the VA Medical Center in Leeds and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Northeast Regional headquarters in Hadley, with other offices such as the U.S.D.A.’s Rural Development in Amherst.
The potential for crushing health care cost increases is motivating McGovern to seek a better budget deal. “In my district, people want a government that stays open, but they also want a government that works for them that stays open,” he said.
For their part, Republicans have said they couldn’t reach a deal because Democrats have insisted that undocumented immigrants be allowed to access health care. McGovern said these are lies, since those people without documentation living in the United States are not able to access health care insurance.
Research grants
At the University of Massachusetts, Mike Malone, vice chancellor for Research & Engagement, and Andrew Mangels, vice chancellor for Administration & Finance, wrote a letter to the campus community Tuesday outlining the possible effects on research and administrative activities.
“Our advice to campus researchers is based on what has happened during previous government shutdowns,” they wrote, referring people to information provided by the American Council on Education. “However, this shutdown may deviate from past practices.”
Their advisory suggests, for instance, that principal investigators who are using federal grants not abandon their research: “Until we hear otherwise, researchers with active federally sponsored grants and contracts should continue to work.”
But delays are expected in responses from federal agency staff to applications and progress reports, and “disruptions will occur to projects that have significant involvement of federal employees, require access to federal facilities, or if your contract contains a federal work order that gives the sponsor the right to order UMass to stop performing work.”
“We also anticipate that funding disruptions could occur for UMass students or postdocs receiving direct stipends from federal agencies.”
UMass also a ResCoE fund established to offer temporary financial assistance should federal grant money dry up, with other local financial resources potentially available for affected graduate students.
Other impacts
This is the first shutdown since the longest ever one that began in December 2018 and lasted into the next January.
“We’re in a little bit of uncharted territory because of this administration,” said Matt Bonaccorsi, a senior adviser to McGovern, adding that President Trump has been willing to be both unorthodox in his approaches and to violate federal laws.
That is exhibited in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development homepage having a greeting that reads, “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.”
Community Action Pioneer Valley is one of the lead agencies offering support to people with low incomes, helping them to achieve economic stability and security.
Jess Thompson, a spokeswoman for the organization, wrote in an email that all of its locations and programs across the region remain open.
“Community Action Pioneer Valley (CAPV) is closely monitoring the federal government shutdown and its potential impact on the vital services we provide to our neighbors across Franklin, Hampshire and neighboring counties,” Thompson said.
Bonaccorsi said funding of WIC will likely be one of the first impacts.
“WIC benefits are the much more immediate concern, as a lapse in funding could see benefits denied,” Bonaccorsi said.
Neal’s overview of the potential shutdown impacts also observes the supplemental appropriation for WIC could be out of money within a week of the shutdown.
The temporary closing of this program could, in turn, put more stress on food banks, like the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, which have already had to deal with cutbacks in federal support.
Head Start is another program likely to feel the brunt of the shutdown, with federal grants to these child care centers not able to be provided by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey issued a statement providing more details about why Democrats are standing firm to reach a budget deal that he says would protect health care for millions of Americans, including more than 660,000 Massachusetts residents.
“Instead of building a government that works for the people, Trump and Republicans are choosing to budget for a system that benefits only the privileged few,” said Markey, who blames Republicans “for choosing King Donald and his Billionaire Boys Club over the health of the American people.”
Markey estimates that 337,000 Massachusetts residents will see increased health care costs should the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits be lost, and 326,000 Massachusetts residents would lose Medicaid insurance coverage if Trump’s cuts to Medicaid are not reversed. There is also potential for lost funding to the National Institutes of Health and clinical trials that could lead to breakthrough treatments for Alzheimer’s, cancer and other diseases.
“Massachusetts families and communities deserve better,” Markey said. “I refused to vote for a budget that takes money and care away from families in the Bay State — just to rubber stamp tax breaks for CEO billionaires.”
Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, in social media posts, noted a situation in which health care premiums could more than double, and that Republicans preferred a shutdown over lowering health insurance costs.
“For American families, the price of just making it to the end of the month has gone up and up,” Warren said. “Democrats are using our votes to make life more affordable.”
The White House issued a statement explaining many of the same issues that would arise for American families, though blamed this outcome on Democrats, calling it a “Democrat Shutdown (that) hits Americans where it hurts: Critical food assistance for low‑income women, infants and children will lapse. Americans will experience travel delays and disruptions to Social Security services. Funding for inpatient home care and telehealth services for Medicare patients will be suspended, along with some services for veterans.”