Ga. state rep. on looming government shutdown: ‘This impacts all of us’

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - All eyes are on the nation’s capital, as lawmakers try and negotiate a deal to prevent a looming government shutdown.

Dexter Sharper, Georgia State Representative for District 177, says both sides of the aisle have funding bills that they’d like to pass before the Sept. 30 deadline. Sharper says if they don’t reach a deal, a shutdown would cause a ripple effect — impacting federal employees, then state employees and eventually local businesses.

“Your active-duty military personnel and many of your law enforcement officers, they’ll remain at work, but they won’t be getting paid at this time until the appropriated funds are available. Or if people are waiting on a FEMA inspector to come out to look at their homes after the storm, then that’s going to slow them down,” Sharper said.

Small business grants would be put on hold if the government doesn’t make a decision soon. Public health, environmental agencies, national travel and defense and even Head Start programs could be affected.

“The daycare people, they need their money. When you’re getting ready to drop your kid off, and a lot of times they don’t want to hear, ‘Oh, the government’s shutdown right now.’ It possibly halts the way that people travel. Your TSA. That’s what we have to look at. All your federal employees, every federal agency is going to be affected by this, someway somehow,” Sharper said.

Sharper says now is the time to reach out to your congressmen and federal leaders to encourage them to reach a resolution before the end of the week.

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