On the recordJanuary 23, 2019
I rise to discuss the effects of the Federal Government shutdown. I have given a number of floor speeches about the effects of the shutdown on Federal employees and their families. I heard the Presiding Officer give a similar speech about the effects on the Coast Guard in Kodiak, AK, the other day. I have also talked about the effect of the shutdown on American citizens who depend upon the services of Agencies that have been shuttered or dramatically reduced in capacity. Today I want to talk about something different. I want to talk about the effect of the shutdown on American businesses, especially small businesses. Over the past month, I have had numerous conversations with business owners who tell me how this shutdown has hurt them, and, no surprise, economic analysts have indicated that the shutdown is having a massive effect on the U.S. economy. S&P, for example, has concluded that the shutdown will cost the United States more than $6 billion by week's end, a little bit over 1 month in. President Trump's chief economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, said that a zero-percent growth rate is possible because of the shutdown. His quote in an article dated January 23: If [the shutdown] extended for a whole quarter and given the fact that the first quarter tends to be low because of residual seasonality, then you could end up with a number close to zero in the first quarter. We are now more than 1 month into the shutdown, and this economic effect is very real.…
