If members of Congress cannot reach a funding agreement by the end of the day next Tuesday, the federal government will shut down on Wednesday.
In Oregon and Southwest Washington, that means about a third of the federal workforce could stop working.
Last Friday, Oregon’s five Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted against a short-term federal spending package that would have averted a shutdown.
But House Republicans passed it along party lines and sent it to the U.S. Senate, where it failed. Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley voted against the resolution.
The package now needs 60 votes to pass, and Republicans control 53 seats. So, Democratic leaders are making demands in exchange for votes.
Oregon Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle said her support is contingent on the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. If the subsidies expire, health insurance premiums will spike for millions of Americans.
“It is a negotiation. You can’t get something for nothing,” Hoyle said. “They need Democratic votes and the ask is very simple. It is small, and it is something that Democrats and Republicans agree should happen.”
The Trump administration has moved to shrink federal spending and reshape government. It has come largely with the backing of Congressional Republicans, who argue such changes are long overdue.
Oregon Democratic U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum said Republicans are responsible if the federal government shuts down.
“Republicans have control of the House, the Senate, and the presidency,” Bynum said. “So whatever happens, they own it.”
A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, Oregon’s sole Republican member of Congress, did not return a phone call and email seeking comment.
Below is a rundown of what a government shutdown might mean for Oregon and Southwest Washington.
What needs to happen to avert a government shutdown?
The government runs out of funding as the clock strikes midnight Tuesday, Sept. 30.
To avoid a shutdown, Congress must either pass a short-term funding resolution or approve 12 separate full-year funding bills. It’s widely acknowledged that there isn’t time to deal with full-year funding bills, so politicians will need to agree on a stopgap measure.
How much might the average person notice a federal shutdown?
Anyone who is not a federal employee — or the family member of a federal employee — may not see a significant impact on daily life. Those who get Social Security, for example, should continue to see checks in the mail.
Many federal employees are likely to be told to report for work after a shutdown for safety and security reasons. So, airports and military installations are expected to remain open.
But people could run into trouble if they’re applying for a passport and need it quickly, or if they’re trying to work out a problem with the Social Security Administration, the Veterans Administration or the IRS.
Other programs could also face problems. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are likely to continue for a limited period, but a prolonged shutdown could cause interruptions.
In 2024, ahead of a different possible shutdown, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told NPR that WIC benefits could run out “within a matter of days” and predicted SNAP could continue as normal for about a month into a shutdown.
How would the region’s federal workforce be affected?
There are nearly 30,000 federal workers in Oregon, and another 3,700 in Clark County, Washington. Each federal agency has its own shutdown plan, but workers can be regarded as fitting into three basic categories:
- About a third are not affected because they work for the U.S. Postal Service, the Bonneville Power Administration or other agencies with their own funding mechanisms.
- Another third will be told to stay on the job because they are essential for public safety. That list includes airport screeners, air traffic controllers, border protection workers, federal law enforcement, in-hospital medical care, the military, power grid maintenance staff and Veterans Administration caregivers. They’ll be expected to keep working, but won’t get paid until after funding starts flowing again.
- The last group — also about a third of the local federal workforce — won’t work during a shutdown. They include part-time workers for agencies like the Forest Service. In previous shutdowns, Congress has paid furloughed workers afterward, but there is no guarantee.
During a shutdown in 2018, agencies like the National Science Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suspended work.
At the time, the American Federation of Government Employees said people just wanted to do their jobs.
“All they ask for is just to be paid for the work they do, and they don’t want to be used as political pawns,” said AFGE Northwestern representative Timothy DeBolt.
Shutdowns in 2013 and 2018 led to furloughs for about 850,000 of the more than 2 million non-postal federal employees nationwide, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
What about national parks and monuments?
It’s unclear. In the 2013 shutdown, national parks and monuments were completely locked down, resulting in many visitors being turned away.
But during a shutdown in 2018, many parks remained open, although services such as trash removal were stopped temporarily.
What about state-run programs, like the Oregon Health Plan, that depend heavily on federal money?
In a statement, the OHA said it is monitoring legislative developments closely.
“At this time, we can confirm that, should the government shut down, the current plan is WIC will continue to function through mid-October, past the September 30 federal funding cutoff,” the statement read.
“The state WIC program will provide more information as soon as it becomes available.”
But the Oregon Health Plan is already facing steep cuts, regardless of a federal shutdown.
State analysis found Oregon could lose roughly $12 billion in federal health insurance funding over the next six years, and an additional $2 billion-plus in food benefits, all as a result of the massive budget bill President Donald Trump signed this year, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
In shutdown negotiations, Democrats are asking for more than $1 trillion to extend Obamacare tax credits created in 2010, which are scheduled to expire this year.
Democrats also want to roll back cuts Republicans made to health programs like Medicaid through the passage of Trump’s domestic policy bill.
How might a 2025 shutdown compare to previous federal shutdowns?
If it happens, this is likely to be a large shutdown, as the current Congress has not passed any of the 12 required appropriations bills.
The last shutdown, from December 2018 to January 2019, was a partial closure as Congress had already enacted five of 12 appropriations bills.
That shutdown lasted 35 days and reduced U.S. economic growth by an estimated $3 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
