Sen. Joni Ernst rolls out bill to study impact of government shutdown as pricetag blows past $4.4 billion
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WASHINGTON — The financial impact of the ongoing partial government shutdown has surged to at least $4.4 billion. However, the ultimate cost could be significantly higher as more details emerge. Recently introduced legislation aims to pinpoint the financial burden precisely.

Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa has proposed a new bill that mandates federal agencies to accurately assess the financial impact of the shutdown on their operations after it concludes, providing a detailed report on the cost to taxpayers.

“The antics of Schumer’s Shutdown are proving to be quite expensive for Americans,” Ernst stated to The Post.

“While the exact expense of this political maneuver by the Democrats is unknown, it is evident that approximately 750,000 ‘non-essential’ federal workers are set to receive an estimated $400 million in backpay for each workday of the shutdown,” she added.

As of Wednesday, the shutdown had entered its 11th workday, meaning the government is obligated to pay around $4.4 billion in backpay to furloughed employees, with costs continuing to rise until the funding gap is resolved.


Sen. Joni Ernst speaking to reporters with an open mouth and pointed finger.
Sen. Joni Ernst wants federal agencies to tally up a precise estimate of the government shutdown’s cost. AP

Under Ernst’s Non-Essential Workers Transparency Act, federal agencies will have to calculate the number of federal workers furloughed, the sum of what they would’ve been paid if there wasn’t a shutdown and how much non-furloughed workers took in during the funding lapse.

Agencies will have 30 days from the shutdown’s conclusion to submit the data.

“As a bonus, my bill will help expose which parts of the bloated bureaucracy are truly non-essential and primed for the chopping block,” the Hawkeye State Republican added.

The government entered a partial shutdown on Oct. 1 after Congress deadlocked over funding when Republicans demanded a clean spending patch and Democrats insisted they get concessions on health care policy.

Already, the shutdown has become the fourth-longest in US history, hitting the 15-day marker on Wednesday with neither side showing any signs of blinking during the deadlock in Congress.


A sign reads "Closed due to federal government shutdown," with the US Capitol Building visible in the background.
The government has been partially shut down since Oct. 1 amid a funding stalemate in Congress. ZUMAPRESS.com

The prior government shutdown, which spanned a record 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019, delayed $18 billion worth of federal discretionary spending and slashed gross domestic product by $8 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

That period of time included multiple federal holidays, which meant that many “non-essential” government employees wouldn’t have been working for parts of the funding lapse anyways.

In a departure from prior government shutdowns, the Trump administration has been issuing reduction-in-force (RIF) notices to thousands of federal employees, meaning they will be permanently laid off.

However, a federal judge halted the move in a temporary restraining order Wednesday that the Trump administration appears likely to appeal.

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