Hassan discusses possible government shutdown with SNHS

MANCHESTER, N.H. – On Monday, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) travelled to the headquarters of Southern New Hampshire Services (SNHS) on Silver Street to hear details on how a potential government shutdown would harm their operations.

Hassan said that while the Senate is working in a bipartisan manner to avert a shutdown, a shutdown would harm national security and the economy as well as programs such as SNHS that help society’s least fortunate.

“Make no mistake, Granite Staters will be worse off if the government shuts down,” said Hassan.

While some agencies would manage to continue operations due to state funding, reserves and portions of their programs that operate on fiscal years that have already allocated federal funding, numerous programs would impacted such as food and fuel assistance.

SNHS CEO Donnalee Lozeau expressed concern not just with the fact that 95 percent of their funding comes from state and federal funding, but that the possible shutdown could extend uncertainty that impacted the organization during the COVID-19 pandemic. She added that uncertainty has made it difficult to plan and attract new employees.

“It feels like for the last three years we’ve lived in uncertainty,” she said. “Now to be living in uncertainty and not be sure whether we’re going to have funds that will let us continue to operate, it’s a challenge.”

Hassan said SNHS is not alone. If a government shutdown does occur, she stated her belief that it will not only significantly impact businesses and organizations reliant on federal funding, but also organizations and businesses that are reliant on those businesses and organizations no longer receiving federal funding.

“There are hundreds of small businesses and manufacturers in New Hampshire who do business with the federal government. So when you begin to talk about a government shutdown, there is a ripple effect from the impacts in terms of direct funding to organizations (such as SNHS) and then impacts to supplemental businesses (that supply SNHS), which can undermine the entire economy.”

This latest fear of a government shutdown is just the latest in a series of standoffs, with U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) holding a similar meeting just weeks ago before a similar shutdown was averted.

Hassan referenced S. 135, a bill known as the “Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2023” she has co-sponsored with U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and several other senators have co-sponsored that would prohibit congressional adjournment, recesses or travel when the government is shut down.

“If we haven’t gotten a budget done by our relevant deadlines and prioritize funding the government over everything else, I’ll continue to work on solutions like this because I think this constant threat of government shutdowns is unacceptable,” she said.

The new deadline is Nov. 17 and Hassan said she is also willing to work with her colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives, but also stated she is opposed to some of the cuts proposed by House Republicans that she believes could severely impact organizations like SNHS.