The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette
Indiana’s Sen. Todd Young has proved again that he’s not a member of Washington’s burn-it-all-down Republican firebrand caucus.
The retired Marine captain was one of just four Hoosier GOP lawmakers to vote “yes” Saturday on a short-term measure to continue funding the federal government and avoid a shutdown. The bill passed with a bipartisan vote of 335-91 in the House and 88-9 in the Senate, buying another 45 days to reach a deal on government funding for the next fiscal year.
But Tuesday’s historic ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy raises the odds of a shutdown before the end of 2023, according to Goldman Sachs analysts. That could put millions of low-income Americans at risk of losing access to food and nutrition assistance programs, with the impact dependent on how long an economy-slowing shutdown lasts.
After the record 34-day government shutdown from Dec. 22, 2018 to Jan. 25, 2019, the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated $18 billion in discretionary spending was delayed. All federal employee paychecks were paused, affecting more than 20,000 Hoosiers, according to WFYI-TV Indianapolis.
In solidarity with unpaid federal workers, Young donated his salary to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation until the government was reopened.
Hoosier lawmakers who joined Young in supporting the funding stopgap Saturday were Democratic Reps. Frank Mrvan and Andre Carson and Republican Reps. James Baird, Larry Bucshon and Erin Houchin. Among those voting “no” from the Indiana Republican congressional delegation were Sen. Mike Braun and Reps. Rudy Yakym, Jim Banks, Victoria Spartz and Greg Pence.
Nearly 7 million women and children who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children could lose assistance almost immediately, according to the Biden administration. Families receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits could also lose financial help if a government stoppage drags out for weeks.
“Collectively, hundreds of millions of Americans, it’s a majority of the population, are receiving some kind of benefits from the government,” Forrest V. Morgeson III, an associate professor at Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business, told PBS “NewsHour.” He noted a shutdown would bring significant financial uncertainty and other economic implications.
The U.S. can’t afford another government stoppage, no matter how brief. We call on all of the Indiana congressional delegation to work toward building consensus on the next funding bill.
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