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As Federal Shutdown Looms, A Look At How The Impacts In Maine Could Add Up

Jacquelyn Martin
/
Associated Press
The sun casts a shadow over the Capitol as a bitterly-divided Congress hurtles toward a government shutdown this weekend, Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Members of Maine’s congressional delegation are divided over funding the federal government for another month, as talks continue in Washington. They acknowledge that a partial shutdown is possible if an agreement can't be reached.

But that would not have a big immediate impact on Maine. Programs such as Medicaid and Social Security will continue to send benefit checks, and many federal workers will stay on the job, including law enforcement and the military.

National parks, including Acadia in Maine, will be closed and staff laid off, and other federal agencies will furlough all but essential workers. The more than 4,000 civilian workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery could be furloughed.

The longer a shutdown lasts, the greater the impact on Maine. State agencies such as the Departments of Labor, Environmental Protection and Health and Human services employ a good number of federally-paid  workers,  and hundreds would face a furlough as federal funding is exhausted.

This story was originally published Jan. 19, 2018 at 5:45 p.m. ET.

Journalist Mal Leary spearheads Maine Public's news coverage of politics and government and is based at the State House.