BRUNSWICK – The federal government is careening towards a partial shutdown Friday at midnight after President Donald J. Trump announced that he would not sign a Senate bill temporarily funding the government through February because it did not include money for a border wall.
Most Midcoast residents, however, will not be impacted by the partial shutdown.
The partial government shutdown will affect several government agencies, but approximately 75 percent of the government has already been funded through separate appropriations bills. Some federal workers in unfunded agencies may be furloughed in the event of a shutdown, while essential personnel may be expected to work without pay.
But for most Midcoast residents and businesses, life will continue apace.
Although Bath Iron Works, the area’s largest employer, depends on federal contracts to build ships for the Navy, it would likely be unaffected by the shutdown. The shipyard is a private company and funding for its contracts will not be affected by the shutdown. Pentagon funding was approved in an appropriations bill earlier this year, meaning that it is not part of the government shutdown. Bath Iron Works declined to comment on the shutdown or how it might impact them.
When the federal government shutdown for just over two weeks in 2013, a Bath Iron Works spokesperson said that the shipyard would not be impacted.
A representative for the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Bath, a government entity that overseas shipbuilding contracts with private shipbuilders, did not return a request for comment about whether they would be impacted by a shutdown. Presumably, they would not be affected because their funding was passed in the same defense spending bill.
While the Department of Housing and Urban Development would be one of several agencies impacted by the shutdown, Bath Housing Executive Director Debora Keller said that independent agencies like Bath Housing would remain open, and services such as Section 8 vouchers would likely continue in a normal fashion.
LIHEAP, a federal program that provides heating assistance to many low-income Mainers, will also not be affected.
A spokesperson for Gov. Paul LePage said in a statement that while the state is still working to identify whether any state employees will be affected, state employees who are paid by federal funds should expect “business as usual.”
“Because most of the agencies receive their federal grants in a lump sum for the whole year, or have unspent funds carried over into the next fiscal year, these funds can be used to pay state employees even though this year’s total federal allocation has not been paid yet and could be held up in the shutdown,” said Press Secretary Julie D. Rabinowitz.
“Since this would only be a partial shut down, not every program will be affected and the vast majority of state employees—even those who are paid via federally funded grants—will not be affected,” she added.