Taxpayers pay $400 million per day for furloughed workers: CBO
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that during the current government shutdown, taxpayers are paying $400 million daily to furloughed federal workers-around 750,000 employees-who are not working. This analysis was requested by Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) to understand the economic impacts of the shutdown, which include disruptions to small businesses, lost revenues, delayed military pay, and long-term consequences. Ernst criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for prolonging the shutdown,calling for an end to avoid further waste of taxpayer money and to restore government services. The report also references the previous longest shutdown (2018-2019), which caused a permanent $3 billion GDP loss, noting that economic damage depends on the shutdown’s length.The article highlights controversies over pay disparities between members of Congress and military personnel affected by the shutdown.
Taxpayers pay $400 million per day for 750,000 furloughed federal workers during shutdown: CBO
A report from the Congressional Budget Office found that taxpayers will pay furloughed workers $400 million per day during the government shutdown.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) asked the CBO last week for a detailed analysis of the economic costs of the government shutdown, including disruptions to small businesses, lost revenue, delayed wages for military servicemembers, and long-term fallout. The analysis found that significant disruption would take place, including paying hundreds of thousands of workers for not working.
Specifically, the CBO found that 750,000 federal workers would be paid $400 million per day of the shutdown despite not working.
“It has only been two days, but the ‘Schumer Shutdown’ is already racking up quite the bill for taxpayers,” Ernst told the Washington Examiner. “So far, $800 million has been wasted paying 750,000 federal employees to sit at home and not work, and each day Democrats drag this on, another $400 million will be added.”
“[Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)] needs to stop placating the radical Left and end this pointless shutdown to stop wasting tax dollars, ensure that our servicemembers are paid, and the American people can access vital services from the federal government,” she added.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LEAVES FEDERAL WORKERS TORN
The previous government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, from 2018 to 2019, caused the United States to lose $3 billion in GDP, an amount that was never recovered. The CBO assessed that the extent of economic damage in this shutdown would depend on its duration.
One area highlighted by some Republicans was the disparity between payouts to soldiers and members of Congress. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) was bashed for saying it was “not feasible” for him to miss a paycheck, even though military servicemembers who make much less would miss their paychecks until the government reopened.
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