Approximately 40 days remain for Congress to come up with a plan to fund the government.
Much to the surprise of most of the nation, Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown mere hours before it was set to start at 12:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, Oct. 1. The National Small Business Association (NSBA) applauds both parties and houses of Congress for taking the needed steps to prevent a potentially disastrous shutdown.
Government shutdowns can be disastrous particularly for the millions of small businesses that do business directly with the federal government. This week, those contractors can rest a little easier. Unfortunately, unfortunately this latest agreement only gives Congress another 45 days to iron-out a long-term spending deal.
NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken stated, “The hard-fought compromise this weekend buys us all a little more time and we are thankful for it, however this kind of crisis legislating does little to provide much-needed predictability, stability and long-term confidence for small businesses and their employees.”
During a shutdown, not only are federal contractors impacted, every business in their supply chain, their employees and their families all feel the pinch of a government shutdown. Furthermore, small businesses seeking assistance, lending and resource programs government-wide face long delays due to the absence of staff and inevitable backlogs.
The fall-out of the bipartisan agreement that former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-
Calif.) signed off on, however, resulted in his ouster as Speaker. NSBA will continue monitoring the situation and will apprise you of any breaking changes.
Please click here to read NSBA’s letter to Congressional leaders warning against a shutdown.