How would government shutdown affect Quad-Cities?
TV6 Investigates looks at food aid programs
DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - Republicans in the House of Representatives have been in a stalemate over how to keep the government open.
Congress has till midnight tomorrow to pass a spending bill or the government will shut down.
How will it affect the Quad-Cities?
Most might not even notice. Mail will still be delivered, the courts will run as normal, and TSA agents will still screen passengers at the airport.
Many federal employees simply won’t have a paycheck to earn. Law enforcement, the military and other services deemed essential will continue.
But for other folks, this could be devastating. Food stamps, WIC and SNAP will stop. So will funding for early childhood education programs like Head Start. And millions of federal employees will work without pay or be furloughed.
Bill Polley, an economist at the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, said those program will continue for the first few days, but the longer the shutdown goes on, the more you run the risk that you’re going to be disrupting people’s SNAP benefits.
Polley said that could lead to more people having to use food pantries.
The effect in the Quad-Cities depends a lot on the Rock Island Arsenal.
RIA released the following statement: A government shutdown will be very disruptive to our operations across Army Materiel Command. We need consistent and predictable funding to prioritize requirements and responsibility to responsibly manage the resources allocated to equip and sustain our soldiers.
The command supplies materials and logistics to soldiers all over the world. It’s unclear what those disruptions might entail. But either way, local companies with defense contracts and local manufacturers with connection to the arsenal are watching this closely.
The longest shutdown happened in 2018 and 2019, when the federal government wasn’t funded for 35 days. Polley said that if a shutdown like that happens, the longer it lasts, the more painful it will become.
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