government shutdown

Gov. Janet Mills has signed a bill to offer state-backed no-interest loans to federal and state employees if they are furloughed or required to work without pay during a federal or state shutdown.

Kirsten Figueroa, commissioner of the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services told lawmakers that Maine could tap its strong cash reserves to temporarily cover the gap in federal funding for some programs without affecting state operations. And she said her office likely could manage a 30-day shutdown without requiring the Legislature to return to Augusta.

If the government does close, the impacts will more closely resemble those felt during a 16-day shutdown back in 2013, when about 40% of federal workers and military members in Maine and across the country were furloughed, union officials said.

It's still not clear what impacts a federal shutdown would have on benefits like food stamps in Maine. Amanda Marino with Good Shepherd Food Bank, says that benefits will not be stopped immediately, but that could change if the shutdown drags on.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins says she is working with several colleagues on a new compromise to avoid a government shutdown starting this weekend by adding border security provisions to the bill.

Maine could tap its cash reserves to cover programs affected by a possible shutdown of the federal government, but a spokesperson for Gov. Janet Mills' budget office says the state would need assurances that those monies would be repaid.

In past shutdowns, thousands of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard workers were furloughed. And Acadia National Park has 90 permanent and 200 seasonal federal workers and has endured several shutdowns in the past.

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