With little time left and no plan, Congress is very unlikely to avoid a shutdown of the government at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday, October 1st.
Past shutdowns have had a negative economic impact on Williams and the surrounding areas. Grand Canyon National Park will close to visitors and Federal employees will not receive paychecks.
According to former Williams Mayor John W. Moore, “past shutdowns have led to decreased tourism in Williams and cancelled hotel bookings. During one shutdown, the State of Arizona provided money to keep the Grand Canyon National park open, but nobody is talking about that and it seems unlikely to happen this time.”
The Williams area has many Federal employees and contractors that will not receive a regular paycheck which could negatively impact local businesses if the shutdown lasts for more than 2 weeks. While Federal employees will eventually get back pay, contractors employees may not get paid for their time off during the shutdown.
Government employees who provide essential services, such as air traffic control and law enforcement, continue to work, but don’t get paid until Congress takes action to end the shutdown.
Benefits such as Social Security and Medicare continue to be paid because they are authorized by Congress in laws that do not need annual approval.
The sticking points to passing the needed spending bills largely hinge on billions in aid to Ukraine, overall deficit spending and a “wide open and lawless border”. Many members of Congress are refusing to vote for what they deem “blank check spending”, and the Senate has shown little appetite to negotiate with the House of Representatives.
