By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Virginia ranks sixth among the most affected in the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Nearly 900,000 federal employees have been furloughed, and another 700,000 are still working without pay. The shutdown is costing the U.S. economy an estimated $400 million a day, according to WalletHub, which analyzed the impacts in its Oct. 15 report.
WalletHub ranked the District of Columbia first, followed by Hawaii, New Mexico, Alaska, Maryland and Virginia. The report weighed each state’s share of federal jobs, contract dollars, SNAP reliance, and exposure to stalled programs such as mortgage processing and national parks.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has continued to call on Senate Democrats to end what he labeled the “Schumer Shutdown,” writing in a post on X that Virginians should “call your senators and tell them to stand up for you – not Chuck Schumer.”
While Youngkin called on Senate Democrats to end the stalemate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., urged the administration to clarify its guidance on federal employee pay during the shutdown.
In a letter to the Office of Management and Budget, Kaine referenced the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which requires all furloughed federal workers to receive back pay once the government reopens. The letter said OMB’s recent update created uncertainty for federal employees regarding whether they would receive back pay required under the law.
The report found that Virginia ranks high in federal contract dollars per person and fifth in share of federal jobs. The concentration of federal workers in Northern Virginia and military facilities in Hampton Roads helps explain the commonwealth’s ranking.
Maryland, ranked just ahead of Virginia, has similar exposure due to its concentration of federal employees and contractors around Washington, D.C.
Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, has already called out Attorney General Jason Miyares for staying silent on how the gridlock affects Virginia’s workers and economy, a topic he is expected to bring up again during tonight’s debate.