Tag: Federal Shutdown

Federal Government Shutdown Will Affect W.Va. Families, Seniors

The looming federal government shutdown will have a major effect on some of West Virginia’s most vulnerable: the very young and the elderly, when it comes to putting healthy food on the table.

The looming federal government shutdown will have a major effect on some of West Virginia’s most vulnerable, the very young and the elderly, when it comes to putting healthy food on the table. 

The state’s two major food banks, Facing Hunger in Huntington and the Mountaineer Food Bank in Gassaway, help more than a quarter million people in need. 

Facing Hunger Food Bank CEO Cyndi Kirkhart said a shutdown would immediately stop checks and meals going to tens of thousands in the WIC, or Women Infants and Children and Meals on Wheels for seniors programs.    

“There’s about 37,300 individuals in our region’s WIC program,” Kirkhart said. “Out of that number, 7,592 are women. There are 21,313 children. And then the infant’s number is 8,387. With a shutdown, the benefits will stop with immediacy.”

She said WIC families losing about $200 a month will not have the specific purchasing ability for earmarked nutritional food resources.   

“All those important foods, like milk, juice, cereal, those things that families rely on to have healthy children, suddenly become out of reach,” Kirkhart said.

Kirkhart said most of the seniors getting Meals on Wheels lack mobility. 

We have about 57,000 seniors that qualify for federally-funded programs,” Kirkhart said. “Many rely on Meals on Wheels to bring meals into their homes. What meals they don’t get from the Meals on Wheels program, they’re going to turn to the food banks, and other charitable food programs to supplant those missing meals.”

Kirkhart said depleted West Virginia Food Bank inventories still have not recovered from the pandemic, from inflation, from cutbacks and other societal variables.

“Everyone is feeling the pain of high inflation and high fuel prices so charitable giving starts to drop,” she said. “We pay more for the food that we purchase. We can’t buy as much as we have historically. And we’re trying to expand programming to do home deliveries to the seniors at a very critical time. So, it’s quite a perfect storm.” 

Kirkhart said the Facing Hunger Food Bank has strategically planned for purchases to help those who may be in immediate need. 

“We have things lined up to make additional purchases of those very food products that focus on WIC and our seniors enjoy,” she said. 

Kirkhart said people with questions on food availability can contact the Facing Hunger Food Bank at 304-523-6029. Or contact the Mountaineer Food Bank at 304-364-5518.

State Schools Eye Impact Of Government Shutdown

West Virginia schools rely on several federal grants, including child nutrition programs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and special education funds from the U.S. Department of Education.

With the threat of a federal shutdown at the end of the week, the state’s schools are keeping an eye on the situation. 

West Virginia schools rely on several federal grants, including child nutrition programs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and special education funds from the U.S. Department of Education.

Melanie Purkey, the federal programs officer for the West Virginia Department of Education, oversees the grants for child nutrition, special education funds, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act funding. She also works closely with colleagues in the career and technical office that receive federal funding.  

Purkey said the programs work on a reimbursement process, with counties applying for reimbursement from the state who then request reimbursement at the federal level.

“Each fiscal year, we receive a grant award that is similar to a letter of credit from the federal government, and we have an allocation that says you have up to this much,” she said. 

Purkey said that means the state has the ability to cover expenses for a time, but if the shutdown stretches into November there may begin to be cash flow issues. 

“If we’re entering into November, we would start those conversations and anticipate that at month two or three, the counties and or the state would start to have some cash flow issues if we were covering these expenses,” she said. “I believe the state would probably try to cover county drawdowns from the state level until there was no more cash flow at the state that could float that.”

The 2018-2019 federal shutdown was the longest in U.S. history at 35 days. Purkey said during that time, reimbursement requests were still processed through the shutdown.

“The federal agencies do have the ability to keep essential staff on, and typically the people who process drawdowns are considered essential staff,” she said. “In past shutdowns of the federal government, we have not had any issue with drawdowns not being processed, because those agencies have considered those folks, essential staff.”

Over the past decade, there have already been three federal government shutdowns and Purkey said her office is familiar with the process.

“We’re not overly concerned, but Congress is very unpredictable,” she said. “We will just watch the news every day and see how they are coming with their negotiations, and hope that they can resolve whatever issues might get them into a shutdown quickly.”

Head Start W.Va. Worry Ahead Of Probable Government Shutdown

Hundreds of families in West Virginia could lose the support of Head Start if the government shuts down.

Federally funded programs are bracing for a potential government shutdown if Congress cannot reach a budget solution this week. 

One of those programs is West Virginia Head Start, a child-development program for children of income-eligible families to connect them with services that support health and success in school.

Approximately 722 children and families would lose access to resources if the shutdown lasts a long time, according to Lori Milam, executive director of West Virginia Head Start.

“If it’s a short shutdown, I think our programs are equipped to handle that and have plans in place for that, should it happen,” she said. “However, if it’s any amount of a long period, they would lose access very quickly. It would hurt our staff, which we’re struggling to hire and keep, as it is right now.”

In a warning, the White House estimated 10,000 children would lose access to Head Start programs across the country as the shutdown would prevent the Department of Health and Human Services from awarding grants.

“Oh, it’d be horrible,” Milam said. ”We are universal pre-K in West Virginia, so we collaborate in the school systems. We have staff in the school systems, which we know that the school systems are struggling as well to have staff. If we can’t provide the services, there’s probably no room in the school systems for them to provide their educational services, but they lose the comprehensive services that Head Start provides.”

U.S. Judge Ignores Edict To Stop Civil Cases During Shutdown

A federal judge in West Virginia is ignoring an edict that certain civil cases in his district be suspended during the U.S. government’s shutdown.

Judge Irene Berger of West Virginia’s southern district had granted an order postponing civil cases involving government agencies. But Judge Joseph Goodwin in Charleston ruled Wednesday he’s going to hear cases assigned to him.

At the request of U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart, Berger last week ruled such civil cases will be stopped temporarily. She cited the “lapse of congressional appropriations funding the federal government” that required workforce reductions within the U.S. attorney’s office and other federal agencies.

But Goodwin wrote, “The government should not be given special influence or accommodation in cases where such special considerations are unavailable to other litigants.”

Federal courts in other states, including Kentucky and in Manhattan, New York, also have suspended work on civil cases involving U.S. government lawyers.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said in a statement Wednesday that federal courts in the state will be able to operate until next week because they have enough funding through court fee balances and other funds. He said many staff “will continue to work without pay to ensure the judiciary and law enforcement continues.”

Goodwin was nominated to the bench by President Bill Clinton in 1995. His son, Booth Goodwin, was Stuart’s predecessor in the southern district, serving as U.S. attorney from 2010 to 2015.

How did West Virginia's delegation vote? Congress re-opens government and raises debt ceiling

From the Associated Press: Congress has passed legislation to reopen the partially-shuttered federal government and avert a potentially disastrous default on U.S. obligations, clearing the measure for President Barack Obama’s promised signature.

Passage of the bill late Wednesday in the House and Senate ended a Washington-created crisis that closed much of government for 16 days. It came on the eve of the date the Treasury Department warned it would no longer be able to borrow to pay the government’s bills.

The legislation was carried to passage in the House by strong support from Democrats and 87 yes votes from majority Republicans who had originally sought to use the measure to derail Obama’s three-year-old health care law.

The legislation will reopen the government through Jan. 15 and permit Treasury to borrow normally through Feb. 7.

Reaction from West Virginia’s delegation and how they voted:

From the House:

The bill passed the House by a vote of 285-144 with all three of West Virginia’s Representatives voting in favor.

Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.)

“For now, we can breathe a collective sigh of relief, but this is a temporary respite,” Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) said in a news release. “We should hope and pray that cooler heads will prevail before we must revisit these issues early next year, and that the Majority in the House of Representatives will not revive the threat of a shutdown and default to extract political concessions.”

“Such tactics are reckless and completely at odds with the Constitutional oath to which every Member has sworn,” Rahall said. “And I hope that my colleagues from both sides of the aisle will stand up to those extremists who would put their personal political fortunes above the collective well-being of the Nation.”

Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.)

Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) issued a new release saying: “The American people deserve a solution that ends the partisan bickering, opens the government and ensures we pay our bills on time.”

“While I would prefer a plan that makes more substantial reforms to grow the economy, address our excessive spending, and fix the broken health care law, this agreement will allow us to move forward,” he said.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)

“It is time to reopen the government, and it is clearly not in our country’s best interests to default on our debts,” Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said. “This legislation will protect the full faith and credit of the United States, bring government employees back to work for the American people, and start a larger discussion on our nation’s fiscal issues. West Virginians expect nothing less.”

From the Senate:

Before the House took up the measure, the Senate passed it 81-18. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) voted for the measure.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)

“I am pleased that our leaders could put politics aside and come together in a bipartisan way to reach a deal that reopens the government and prevents a first-ever default on our debt,” said Manchin, who was active in working on a compromise. “I thank Senator Susan Collins and our group of fourteen bipartisan senators, seven Republicans, six Democrats and one Independent, who helped draft the template of the final budget deal.” 

“The bottom line is that we managed to avoid this self-inflicted wound to the national and global economy, but it is past time for America to get its financial house in order,” he said. “We need a bipartisan, big fix like the Bowles-Simpson template that focuses on spending, revenue and reform.”

Manchin said he’s hopeful the bipartisan, bicameral budget committee required under the agreement will be a first step in reducing the deficit and balancing the budget.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)

“The deal we agreed to today is not perfect, but it’s a step forward,” Rockefeller said.

“It will get MSHA personnel back on the job so our miners’ safety is no longer at risk. It will provide security for our veterans who need and deserve access to VA services,” Rockefeller said.

“It will get our intelligence analysts back to work so they can resume their critically important work that prevents terrorist attacks and thwarts attempts to breach our national security. It will begin to repair the loss of confidence in our economy,” he added.

Manchin says default not an option

Twelve Senators are reaching across the aisle on a deal to end the government shutdown and increase the federal debt limit before Thursday, the day the country would likely default on its debts if Congress doesn’t act. One of the 12, Senator Joe Manchin said default is not an option.

The bipartisan Senate deal is fairly straightforward: fund the government through the end of the year, raise the country’s debt limit to avoid default, and mandate a conference committee meeting on the budget between the two Houses. Three things Manchin said are “crucial” in order to get the nation moving forward

“The most important thing we can do is make sure we don’t default at all, nor are we going to default,” he said in a conference call with media Monday afternoon.

But Manchin said in the two weeks of negotiations between the Senators, that third element—a conference between the House and Senate—is what stood out to him as the most important part of the deal.

“Our main goal was to get the budget conference in a meeting and look at the differences of the budget and have a full report to Congress,” Manchin said. “This a chance for a bigger deal, a longer deal.”

Congress hasn’t passed a full budget since 2009 and every few months must vote to keep funding the government until a budget deal can be reached, but Manchin said members of both Houses haven’t even come together to discuss their proposed funding bills and that’s what has to change.

“There’s a lot of skeptics that will say that will never happen. I’m not going to sit here and tell you it will or it won’t. What I’m telling you is it’s got to happen sooner or later,” he said, “but this is our best opportunity to get into that and I’m sick as every one else out there going through this scenario every 3 to 6 months. It’s awful, but this one gives us a chance to at least put them into conference.”

The bipartisan deal mandates a conference committee be formed and the two budgets discussed to come up with a solution.

“Will they deal in good faith, I can’t guarantee that, but I can guarantee they’ll get in a room,” he said.

The Senate deal also includes some concessions on the Democratic side.

The medical device tax, which applies to devices like artificial joints and pacemakers, will be delayed for two years to allow companies to transition toward the fee under the Affordable Care Act.

A second compromise was reached for income verification on the healthcare exchange website. It will prevent fraud and ensure only eligible individuals receive their subsidies on the exchange.

“So people can’t come in a fraudulently claim their income and not have proof of that. That made sense to a lot of us,” Manchin added,

Manchin said, however, the specifics of the plan are still up in the air.

He wants to see the government funded until the first of the year, the debt ceiling extended a few months beyond that and a conference committee convened, but said when or for how long those things will happen is up to the President and Congressional leaders as they hash out a final deal.

Manchin expected a deal and an official vote from Congress to come Thursday morning in time to avoid hitting the federal debt ceiling.
 

Exit mobile version