PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As time runs down for House Republicans to avert a federal government shutdown, President Biden’s transportation chief is warning of the impact that could have on the Philadelphia area and beyond.
Disagreements within the Republican party have kept the House from passing a short-term funding bill that would keep the government operating for another month while lawmakers hammer out a permanent plan.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy insisted the GOP was "very close" and vowed not to give up efforts to convince the hard-right members of his party who say spending is out of control. “We had a great discussion,” McCarthy told reporters. “I think we’ve got a plan to move forward.”
A previous proposal included an 8% cut to agency budgets, which would be dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate.
Without a funding plan by September 30 at midnight, the government would need to either fully or partially shutdown, depending on which agencies are funded.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg tells KYW Newsradio a shutdown would affect millions of Americans, with many federal employees out of work. “You’re going to see so many things that people count on every day, just not available,” he said.
Essential workers, such as air traffic controllers, would be required to work without pay until the end of the shutdown. “I don't think anybody believes that having them show up to that stressful job with the added stress of not getting paid is the right thing to do by them or the right thing to do with aviation operations in this country,” said Buttigieg.
“[The] bottom line is, this is no time to cut funding for aviation, safety or technology.”
According to Buttigieg, a shutdown could also stop several local projects involving the feds, “like the improvements we're funding on Roosevelt Boulevard, which has seen way more than its share of crashes and even deaths,” he said. “Why would we slow down for one minute in that good work?”
The secretary cites the I-95 collapse and subsequent rebuilding as evidence of how crucial it is to make sure the federal government is operating.
“These are exactly the kinds of things that demonstrate why we count on good government to get the job done,” he said.