The Oregon State Capitol in Salem. Federal dollars that flow to state agencies are frozen in the midst of a federal government shutdown. State officials say they are not yet impacted. (Salem Reporter files)
Oregon is not yet expected to feel the impacts of a budgetary stalemate that shut down a quarter of the federal government over the holidays, state officials tell Salem Reporter.
The fight over funding, centered around President Donald Trump’s promised border wall, has frozen dollars that pay federal workers and help fund local organizations and state agencies. For now, there is little burden.
Elizabeth Craig, spokeswoman for the state Department of Administrative Services, said an internal analysis found Oregon’s cash reserves can fill holes in state agencies’ budgets left by the federal dollars for about two weeks. That leaves one week of money left with no signs of the government reopening before the new year.
Any longer and the state will have to develop a new plan, according to a Dec. 21 memo to agency officials. Craig said the state would try to recoup costs from the federal government.
A new Congress convenes Jan. 3 and will take up the efforts to approve funding for several major federal agencies. Their money ran out last week and all but essential operations were shuttered. A Democratic majority in the House could quickly approve a bill similar to one the Senate passed before the shut down, but it’s unclear whether Trump would accept the measure.
“We will be watching as Congress convenes next week, and we will be talking with agencies about what they are hearing from their federal counterparts,” Craig said.
That new funding may not include border security. Depending on how much support it gets, Trump could veto the bill and prolong the federal hiatus.
Federal workers throughout the country have to take furlough days or face working without pay until the budget is sorted.
Oregon has about 28,000 federal workers, according to Nick Beleiciks, labor economist with the Oregon Employment Department, and about 9,600 work in agencies that aren’t currently funded. There are 427 affected workers in Marion County, Beleiciks said, to Polk County’s 15.
The FBI and the Drug Enforcement Agency both have branches in Oregon with operations in Salem and report their agents continue to work.
“We cannot comment on the shutdown. However, as a federal law enforcement agency, DEA will continue operating to protect the public’s safety,” said DEA spokeswoman Jodie Underwood.
The Employment Department’s numbers do not include federal contractors who may also be impacted.
Government shutdowns have occurred more frequently in recent years, but Beleiciks said they have not noticeably affected Oregon’s jobs or unemployment numbers.
“We’re not seeing broader impacts because it’s very early on,” he said
Earlier this year, the federal government closed for two days in January and nine hours in February. The last major shut down in 2013 put federal employees out of work for two weeks.
Federal departments currently closed include the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, State, Transportation and Treasury.
Although those departments help fund programs and agencies at the state level, officials aren’t expecting the feel the impacts — yet.
The Oregon Department of Transportation, for example, relies on federal dollars for things like major infrastructure projects, but spokesman Tom Fuller said the agency plans far enough in advance that it doesn’t expect disruptions. He added that the Highway Trust Fund, which funds federal projects conducted by ODOT, has plenty of money.
Lauren Henderson, assistant director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, had a similar outlook.
“At this point we do not have an indication that the shutdown will affect anything we are doing today and it is not much different than the one a year ago,” she said. “Of course, the longer it goes on the more we might see impacts but no indications yet.”
Federal dollars that trickled down to individuals or businesses have run dry at the moment.
Local businesses that used Business Oregon’s federally funded programs to find foreign markets for exporting can’t do so now.
“With Commerce closed we can’t access that additional resource,” said spokesman Nathan Buehler.
Likewise, ranchers who get paid by the federal government when they take steps to help conserve sage grouse and other animals and plant species would now be paying out of their own pockets. Jerome Rosa, executive director of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, said younger ranchers often tap into those programs, but most ranchers are older and well-established.
“The ones it really affects the most are the young and beginning guys out there trying to get started, trying to borrow money, and they’re on a shoestring,” he said. “But those are the future of the industry, too.”
But Rosa agreed that right now there isn’t a lot of damage being done by the federal shutdown.
“It’s kind of a dead week between Christmas and New Year’s,” he said. “If there was going to be a government shutdown it’s an absolutely perfect time to do it.”
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