A government shutdown would hit hard in Mass., from federal workers' pay to food assistance

With a shutdown of the federal government looming, the risk is rising that thousands of workers in Massachusetts could go without pay and funds could dry up for programs ranging from disaster relief to food assistance.

More than 24,500 federal employees are based in the commonwealth, according to the Congressional Research Service. Across New England, nearly 61,000 workers could be affected.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Maura Healey said the administration is closely monitoring the potential impacts of a shutdown and “working with state agencies to mitigate short-term impacts."

Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have yet to agree to a spending plan ahead of the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year, and inaction by then could trigger a shutdown that would halt spending by many agencies and likely push thousands of government employees into furloughs without pay.

Workers deemed essential, such as those in the military, airport security and air traffic control, would have to work without pay.

Congressman Seth Moulton of Salem said Democrats are ready to pass a spending measure. But Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has so far been unable to wrangle enough votes to move forward, due to opposition from a small group of hard-right representatives.

Moulton said he’s worried about the impact of a shutdown on low-income children. Programs such as WIC, or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, steer federal grants to states to help children and low-income mothers or pregnant individuals purchase food.

“I want to make sure that people aren't going to starve, because 100,000 kids in Massachusetts are depending on food assistance from the federal government,” he said.

Healey’s office said in the event of a shutdown, there would not be an immediate impact for families on WIC because state funds would support the program for a brief time.

But if a shutdown were to drag on, that would be a different matter. Laura Fisher, executive director of Just Roots, a community farm in Greenfield, said the main impact “would be the terrifying prospect of SNAP drying up at the end of October.” SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or monthly food assistance program that millions of low-income Americans depend on and that’s funded by the federal government.

More than 1 million Massachusetts residents depend on SNAP benefits, according to an account of shutdown impacts compiled by U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan’s office.

Fisher said many of the people who buy produce through Just Roots' Community Supported Agriculture program are food insecure. "That's really a big part of the population that we're looking to serve," she said.

Air travel: When it comes to flying, officials at Massport said they do not expect interruptions in service. Air traffic controllers and security officers are considered essential and would have to continue to work, but would not be paid until after the shutdown ends.

Disaster payments: Post-disaster payments from the Federal Emergency Management Agency should continue if the government shuts down. However, the agency's Disaster Relief Fund is running short of money, and leaders say it will be depleted in the near future. To help stave off this crisis, FEMA paused payments on less pressing projects last month. An analysis from the Washington Post found this included over $71 million to Massachusetts.

Massachusetts had a number of locations hit by this summer's heavy rainfall and severe flooding. A spokeswoman for Gov. Healey said the state's emergency management agency "does not anticipate fiscal impacts from the looming federal shutdown."

Housing: Advocates are bracing for the impact of a shutdown, which could affect recipients of subsidies including Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers, according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s contingency plan.

Michael Kane, head of the Massachusetts Alliance of HUD Tenants, said advocates sense what’s to come because of previous shutdowns. Kane said when the government shut down in 2018, landlords continued to receive payments from the Boston Housing Authority, one of the largest administrators of federal vouchers in the state. But he said those funds could dry up if a shutdown goes on long enough.

"Alarms are going out," Kane said.

Doug Quattrochi, the head of Mass Landlords, agreed it's a matter of wait-and-see for now. In prior shutdowns, he explained, funds for Section 8 had already been set aside, so there was enough funding to pay rents.

Free School Meals: A government shutdown could impact free school meals in Massachusetts, but not immediately.

Although the state has approved free meals for all, federal funding still supports the program. The federal government covers the entire cost of breakfast and lunch for students whose family income is at or below 130% of the poverty line. And the feds pay a portion of meals for families up to 185 percent of the poverty line.

The state has enough federal funding to cover school meals through the month of October.

Health care: Medicare benefits won’t be affected, but administration and enrollment could face disruptions. U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a Newton Democrat, said, “Much of that work will grind to a halt and that could lead people in bad situations with their health care.”

Community Health Centers in the state will not face disruption in the short term, but some of their federal funding comes up for renewal Sept. 30, according to Michael Curry, chief executive of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. "Health centers need a temporary extension of this core operational funding," Curry said in an email.

State House News Service contributed to this report.
This story has been updated to include more detail about FEMA, Massport, school meals and community health care.