Local legislators warn of shutdown impacts in San Mateo County

The shutdown — which originated as a fight over Affordable Care Act health care subsidies — has been ongoing for 30 days, with each party blaming the other side for its continuation. 

Democratic legislators like Mullin have pointed to Republican leadership’s refusal to call the House into session to negotiate a governmental reopening as an obvious sign that conservatives are intentionally using the shutdown for political leverage. 

The Trump administration’s ongoing denial of emergency funding sources to temporarily finance the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program through November — which faces an ongoing lawsuit from blue states and may be eminently overturned by a Massachusetts judge — is another example of this cruelty, U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-San Jose, said. 

Liccardo, who is hosting a town hall Oct. 30 to discuss the shutdown’s impacts, said that as pressure increases from affected Americans, he’s hopeful a light exists at the end of the tunnel. In his district, which includes the coastside as well as much of Santa Clara County, 40,000 people would lose access to SNAP, known in California as CalFRESH. 

“There would seem to be every incentive for members of both parties to work together to address the very real pain felt by 42 million Americans,” he said. “I and many other Americans would hope that a resolution would incorporate a comprehensive approach to the differences we have over everything from Affordable Care Act tax credits to ensuring that this president abides by whatever appropriation Congress ultimately approves.” 

In San Mateo County, the Board of Supervisors recently dedicated nearly $900,000 to the county’s eight safety net organizations to purchase and distribute food over the next year, but the impacts of the expiration will still be felt deeply throughout the county and the country. 

The loss of child care resources throughout the nation come November is another very real possibility due to the shutdown, Mullin said during his press conference — hosted at South San Francisco early education facility Izzi.   

The loss of federal funding could cause 140 Head Start programs to close come November, Mullin said, meaning up to 65,000 children losing access to care, education and good services. At Izzi — which offers a Head Start program — their federal funding cycle doesn’t restart until March, leaving them temporarily in the clear, Executive Director Angel Barrios said. 

They will, however, have $1.2 million in funding for a major facility revamp at the San Bruno location held up, Barrios said, highlighting the importance of the services that Izzi and many other early education child care programs offer. 

“Head Start makes it possible for parents to work, pursue education and move towards self-sufficiency,” she said. “When families have a safe, nurturing place for their children, our local workforce, our businesses and our communities all benefit.” 

The shutdown has, of course, impacted more than just basic needs resources. While the Trump administration has continued to fund pay for service members and the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers carrying out his agenda, many other federal workers, including air traffic controllers, remain unpaid.

Mullin emphasized the dire need for the shutdown to end before more Americans are affected. 

“We need this shutdown to end, and we need to push back on this concerted effort to undermine, in some cases, dismantle, vital federal services,” he said. “My Republican colleagues need to call us back to Washington, get a bipartisan negotiation in earnest so we can get this shutdown over with, get federal workers in furlough paid, and make sure there aren’t interruptions to crucial federal services.”