Congressional delegation weighs in as shutdown takes effect

Politicians pointed fingers Wednesday over who was responsible for a federal government shutdown, while some services appeared to continue on with little change.

Republican members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation decried Tuesday’s federal government shutdown and blamed Democrats for it. Meanwhile, Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb faulted President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.

Sen. Pete Ricketts condemned what he called the “Schumer Shutdown,” named for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“When the federal government runs out of funding, service levels decline. Some programs stop," Ricketts said.

Ricketts said people will be unable to enroll in the Women Infants and Children (WIC) program, Social Security customer service could be disrupted, national parks might close, veterans could face delays in accessing benefits, and taxpayer advocates will be unavailable to answer IRS questions.

Last week, the White House said it would look for ways to permanently eliminate federal workers if the government were to shut down, in contrast to what traditionally has happened, when workers are furloughed or paid in arears for the work they do.

Nebraska 1st District Representative Mike Flood said President Trump has the authority to do this.

“The President has broad authority when Congress fails to fund the budget. And operating on that authority, specifically, the director of the Office of Management and Budget has authority that would never be considered if the Article One branch of government (Congress) adequately or even funded the government," Flood said.

Flood said the Affordable Care Act subsidies that the Democratic members of the house are holding out on should not be addressed within the spending bill, echoing that the shutdown is Schumer’s fault. His website features a link for information on what he termed the "Democrat Government Shutdown."

Adrian Smith, who represents Nebraska’s 3rd District, says executive action to permanently lay off federal employees during the shutdown could help streamline government.

"The bureaucracy, I worry, stands in the way of efficient delivery of services in way too many places, and so I think the administration is well equipped to comb through things very diligently and thoughtfully," Smith said.

And 2nd District Rep. Don Bacon said New York Times polling showing only 27% of respondents believe Democrats should shut down the government if their demands aren’t met may sway some politicians.

"I believe that this (shutdown) will be short-lived, because polling in the New York Times today showed most Americans did not want the Democrats to vote no yesterday," Bacon said. He also launched a “Constituent Alerts” page on his website that currently shows information about the government shutdown.

Bacon, Flood, Ricketts, Smith and Sen. Deb Fischer each said they will not be taking any personal paychecks during the shutdown.

Fischer posted a link on her website for information about the shutdown, and shared a message on X, formerly Twitter, regarding her pay.

"If our service members are not being paid during a government shutdown, neither should Members of Congress," the statement read.

Meanwhile, a visit to Lincoln’s Robert V. Denney Federal Building showed a surprising amount of activity.

The Social Security Administration Office was open, with perhaps a dozen people waiting in line to be served. It was not clear whether other agencies were still operating.

One federal building employee said there was about the usual amount of foot traffic; another said that each agency operates differently, with some able to continue operations for a while based on fees.

Ricketts said it's within the president's power to designate which federal employees are essential to keep programs operating.

Social Security, as well as programs like Medicaid and Medicare, Veterans Affairs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, are considered mandatory, so funding will continue unabated, and most services will be available during the shutdown.

Other agencies that will continue to operate include federal courts, law enforcement and air traffic control.

Ricketts said his Nebraska offices would remain open, and his staff, “remains available to help Nebraskans.”

Whether agencies remain open or not, federal employees will not be paid while the shutdown is in effect. Ricketts said his employees would be paid for the current pay period, but not after that until the shutdown is resolved.

In Nebraska, there were just over 17,000 federal government employees as of August, including members of the military, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.