Counties Encourage Federal Government Partners to Avoid Shutdown

WASHINGTON – The National Association of Counties (NACo) today issued a statement encouraging a speedy, bipartisan effort to avoid a federal government shutdown. 

NACo Executive Director Matthew Chase said: 

“Strong intergovernmental partnerships are key to sustaining programs and services for our residents. A government shutdown threatens to disrupt the consistent, reliable flow of resources and the important relationships we maintain with federal officials on the ground. 

“From undertaking infrastructure projects, to administering federal programs for vulnerable populations, to managing air, road and rail transit, county responsibilities often depend on federal, state and local resources and collaboration. 

“We encourage our federal partners to work together to avoid a shutdown and secure bipartisan, long-term solutions that can ensure the dependability of the intergovernmental partnership.” 

With 29 percent of county revenue nationwide coming from intergovernmental sources, a federal government shutdown significantly impacts the availability of resources to sustain county work. Examples of the shutdown’s impact on counties include:

• 1,900 local agencies, including county agencies and 10,000 clinic sites, administer the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) resources. A shutdown would create significant, immediate impacts on this program. 
• With TSA agents working without pay and 17,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees furloughed, significant impacts would be felt at airports, a third of which are managed by counties. 
• Training would be halted for thousands of firefighters in the western U.S., with no federal employees working to reduce dry “fuel” that feeds catastrophic blazes. 
• Distribution of funds for disaster recovery would be slowed, limiting access to essential resources for communities in need following recent disasters. 

For more information on the shutdown’s impact on counties, access NACo’s analysis here