WASHINGTON – Following the U.S. Senate’s failed votes on legislation to end the partial federal government shutdown, state and local government leaders released the following statement:
On behalf of the seven leading organizations representing governors, state legislatures, mayors, county officials, city officials, city and county managers and the elected leadership of every state and local government in this country – we implore you to immediately end the federal government shutdown and re-open the federal agencies that have been closed since last year.
800,000 federal employees face uncertainty in their ability to provide for their families and the national unemployment rate is likely to rise at the end of this month.
Due to the shutdown, economic growth, nutrition assistance, airport security, infrastructure development, public housing, homelessness assistance, disaster aid, rural development, emergency training and response grants, the safety of the food system, the federal court system, implementation of 5G technology, the safety of national parks, Native American communities, coastal security and more are all at risk.
We need a reliable federal partner to work with us.
State and local officials are on the front lines of ensuring citizens are taken care of and we have seen significant impacts every day the government has been shut down. Those impacts will only deepen with time.
The citizens of our cities, counties and states do not deserve to experience these impacts. We urge you to re-open the federal government and ensure that critical services are restored.
