Impact of federal government shutdown felt locally in New Hampshire
National Guard, Navy Shipyard affected
National Guard, Navy Shipyard affected
National Guard, Navy Shipyard affected
Governor Chris Sununu said the state government is prepared for a federal shut down, and the focus right now is on the National Guard.
"They have to be ready, they have to have the resources available," Sununu said.
Lt. Col. Greg Heilshorn said the initial impact of the shutdown has been the cancellation of a drill that was scheduled for this weekend involving about 680 guardsmen.
But it does not stop there for about 400 other people in the National Guard.
"Those that are categorized as federal civilian employees will be officially notified of the shutdown and then within about three hours, they'll be furloughed,” Heilshorn said.
That will happen Monday.
Heilshorn emphasized that the National Guard is still very much operational.
Meantime, Sununu is calling out Democratic leadership.
"I think a lot of us were holding out hope that the Democrats would come together and understand that shutting down the government is never productive for anything, it's never in any constituent's interest to cast that vote to shut down the government,” he said.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen fired back Saturday, saying while the shutdown is not good for anyone, she hopes agreements can be reached that involve the children's health insurance program and DACA.
"We have got to stop operating the federal government a month at a time. We need a long-term budget agreement,” Shaheen said, "We have a lot of work to do, and it would be helpful if everyone could work in a positive way instead of the name-calling that's been going on."
Shaheen's office said Senator Susan Collins of Maine has reconvened the Common-Sense Caucus, a group working on a bipartisan agreement to fund the government.
Senators Shaheen and Maggie Hassan are participating in those talks as part of the group.