WASHINGTON, DC – Today, following a bipartisan vote by the U.S. Senate to pass a budget bill that would avoid a government shutdown, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) offered the following statement:

“Today, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate came together to avert a government shutdown. Now Members of the House of Representatives must put old political fights behind them and put middle-class families, senior citizens, and our men and women in uniform first.”

Brown released the following report from the Democratic Policy & Communications Center (DPCC) on the negative effects a government shutdown would have on Ohioans:

  • A shutdown would hurt financing of more than 1,000 Ohio small businesses per week: The Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2012 approved nearly 54,000 applications (an average of more than 1,000 per week) through their credit loans program, supporting more than 571,000 jobs. A shutdown would stop the ability of the SBA to loan to small businesses through this program until after a shutdown ended.

 

  • A shutdown would delay military pay and hurt Ohio military families: Nearly half of the civilian workforce would be sent home in the event of a shutdown, according to the Department of Defense (DOD), while the rest of the civilian workforce, more than 25,000 Ohioans, would have their pay delayed. Nearly 35,000 servicemembers would remain on duty, but have their pay delayed if a shutdown occurred for 10 days or longer.

 

  • A shutdown could put 52,000 Ohio federal employees out of work: A shutdown would mean a potential furlough for federal employees across the country, including more than 52,000 Ohioans.

 

  • Senior citizens would be ineligible to apply for new social security benefits: Under a shutdown, social security applications could not be taken as a result of federal furloughs and service cuts. In 2012, more than 2,204,000 Ohioans received social security benefits.

 

  • Veterans benefits would be delayed: For new veterans claims, educational, compensation, and pension benefits would be delayed as a result of federal furloughs and service cuts. A shutdown would also add to the disability claims backlog by slowing down processing for existing claims. 

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