Three for Friday: The Shutdown Before Christmas

Regular readers of this column will note that we’re sharing only three items today – not the usual, and more alliterative, four or five for Friday. We’re just trying to get into the downsizing spirit that’s all the rage in Washington, D.C. … and not only the kind promised by D.O.G.E. czar Elon Musk, who wants to take a buzzsaw to the federal bureaucracy, but also this week’s GOP effort to rein in spending by refusing to raise the debt ceiling – even if it means shutting down the government during the holidays. With all this economizing in the air, we at City & State thought we’d take a crack at it, too. 

Here’s your Four Three for Friday, breaking down the Pennsylvania players involved in spending plan talks – and what a government shutdown could mean for the commonwealth: 

Perry and Kelly stand out

U.S. Rep Scott Perry, who can often be found in the middle of spending plan discussions and shutdown threats, joined the Democrats in the state’s House delegation in voting against the stopgap spending plan brought forward this week. Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, and Democrats, who control the Senate, negotiated a bill that extends funding until March 14 – but President-elect Donald Trump urged lawmakers to vote against it.

The bill, which required a two-thirds majority to advance, failed in a 174-to-235 vote, with hard-right Republicans and nearly all Democrats voting against it. U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, on the other hand, was one of 20 lawmakers to abstain from voting. 

Perry told the conservative media outlet Newsmax that he doesn’t think there’s going to be a shutdown despite the complicated negotiations coming up against the deadline and the holidays. “Washington loathes (a shutdown) at all costs,” Perry said Wednesday. 

Impact in PA - If it does happen, a shutdown could furlough the state’s 66,000 federal workers – including nearly 13,000 in Perry’s 10th district, according to the York Dispatch. That said, local municipalities would be able to access the federal funds they’ve already received, so it could potentially take weeks before most Pennsylvanians would experience a shutdown’s disruptive effects – and by then, if history is any guide, a resolution is likely.

The deadlock does endanger the short-term spending bill’s $728 million in federal aid designated to facilitate Pennsylvania’s recovery from destructive 2024 storms. The Keystone State’s critical agriculture sector – which supports some 600,000 jobs – could also be at risk, with the shutdown threatening $10 billion in potential farmers’ aid, along with the one-year extension of farm and nutrition programs.

Holidays on hold

A shutdown would have wide-ranging, negative repercussions for the country and its federal workforce during the holidays, especially in all things transportation-related. 

Although the lasting impact would depend on how long a shutdown lasts, millions of federal civilian workers, contractors and military employees could be hit with paycheck delays – including travel and airport safety workers – and who could be forced to work the holidays unpaid. 

With lawmakers set to leave Washington for 16 days at the end of the week, Congress would have to agree on a spending plan before 11:59 p.m. Saturday to avert the shutdown.