How a U.S. Government shutdown could affect Georgia

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The U.S. government could be headed toward a shutdown.

Georgia has more than 77,000 civilian federal employees.

Some of those workers might not be getting a paycheck down the line should the government shut down.

That means it will be harder for some families to put food on the table.

“During the last shutdown, what we saw in the community was a real increase in demand,” said Kyle Waide, Atlanta Community Food Bank CEO and president.

Waide said about 20% of the food bank’s food and funding comes from government sources.

“We think most of that will remain intact during the shutdown, but there is no doubt that it could be impacted over time. But more importantly, there is going to be more demand for help,” said Waide. “We are going to have to get more food out to the community and we’ll need help with that.”

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, at least 41% of CDC staff will be retained should there be a lapse in appropriations.

The CDC activities that will continue include response to outbreaks, maintaining laboratory function, and the agency’s 24/7 emergency operations center, among other programs.

Another area where people will feel the impact of a shutdown is air travel.

“A shutdown would include, just in the transportation side alone, shutting down air traffic control training at the exact moment when the country recognizes the need for more, not less, ATC staffing,” U.S Transporation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on CNN.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport released a statement on the potential government shutdown:

“We’re monitoring the situation and are prepared to address any operational challenges caused by the shutdown. During similar events in the past, we collaborated with our partners to ensure federal employees who are required to work with deferred pay are provided the resources necessary to maintain their well-being. We expect to do the same if needed this year.”

According to the National Archives and Records istration, if there’s a government shutdown, some presidential libraries could close.

Atlanta News First reached out to the Carter Presidential Library to see if a shutdown would impact their operations. As of Monday evening, we had not received a response.

Copyright 2023 WANF. All rights reserved.