Press Releases

Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) today laid out the potential devastating impacts that a government shutdown could have on Central Coast families.

“The extreme right in the House is once again trying to govern by hostage taking, seeking to force harsh cuts to programs that our families count on, like child care, education, food assistance programs for older Americans and more,” said Rep. Carbajal. “I am committed to preventing this avoidable crisis here in Washington, and I will be working to get Congress to do its most important and fundamental job keeping the lights on, keeping our government open.”

Watch the full video here.

A federal government shutdown would begin on October 1 if Congress does not pass federal funding bills for the upcoming fiscal year.

Rep. Carbajal and his team are preparing to advise Central Coast residents on how to navigate potential interruptions to federal benefits and programs, and will provide additional updates throughout the coming weeks.

The full transcript of Rep. Carbajal’s video can be found below:

You may be hearing more recently about the possibility of a government shutdown, so I wanted to take a moment to talk to you more about what that means and why you should be concerned. Congress has a pretty basic job: funding the government services and programs that you rely on, even the ones you may not think about every day, but still impact your lives.

That includes funding for law enforcement, our military, funding for nutrition and housing programs, health care for our seniors, children, working families, and so much more. But if Congress doesn't do its job and pass those funding bills by the end of September, which is the end of the fiscal year, we are mandated by the Constitution to halt all those programs.

It's true. The Constitution says that federal spending can't happen unless Congress approves it. So here's where we're at. The House under Republican majority has only passed one out of 12 appropriation bills that it needs to have on the president's desk by the end of next week to avoid a shutdown. By comparison, when Democrats were in charge back in 2019, by this time, we'd already passed funding bills covering more than 90% of federal spending programs.

But today, unfortunately, the extreme right in the House is once again trying to govern by hostage taking, seeking to force harsh cuts to programs that our families count on, like child care, education, food assistance programs for older Americans and more. And if these extremists don't get their way, they are saying they are willing to let the government shutdown. Actually, a lot of them have said publicly that they want this to happen.

But I know some of you are thinking. So what? We have had shutdowns before. Is it really that bad? Yes, they are really, really bad. First off, there are thousands of workers, including more than 180,000 in California who would go without a paycheck for the duration of any shutdown. And it does not just affect federal workers more than 40 million Americans rely on federal food assistance like SNAP benefits that would be at risk if the USDA has to shut down as we know from previous shutdowns.

There are also dangerous economic ripple effects. The last shutdown reduced economic activity in our country by $11 billion. The 2013 shutdown caused our economy 20 billion, and shutdowns can cause shipping delays, interruptions to commerce, and have impacts to our small businesses and housing sector. In short, Americans would face disruptions to important benefits. Many private businesses would have to alter their operations, and federal workers across the country would be furloughed and go unpaid.

I am committed to preventing this avoidable crisis here in Washington, and I will be working to get Congress to do its most important and fundamental job keeping the lights on, keeping our government open. Stay tuned for more updates.