Warner, Kaine decry shutdown's effect on Virginia

With Congress still bickering over a compromise for funding a continuing resolution to reopen the government, Sens. Mark R. Warner and Timothy M. Kaine highlighted the impact of the shutdown on Virginia.

In a news conference on the steps the U.S. Capitol today, Warner said that the shutdown has had an obvious impact on “many essential services that a lot of Virginians value and support,” including the National Science Foundation in Arlington, which funds 20 percent of America’s university-based research and employs 1,600 people, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, where 3,500 employees were sent home last week.

“The piecemeal approach adopted by the House, where we reopen selected government functions in response to embarrassing media coverage, makes absolutely no rational business sense,” Warner said. “We need to get our entire government open so these skilled federal employees can get back to work.”

Kaine described how the government paralysis has hurt the Eastern Shore community of Chincoteague, where closures have curtailed two back-to-back weekends of major events that were expected to draw thousands of visitors.

“The main industry in Chincoteague is tourism, (and) the closure of the national seashore and closure of the wildlife refuge has completely hammered the community of Chincoteague,” Kaine said.

Another pillar of the Chincoteague area’s economy, NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, was forced to furlough more than 800 of its 1,000 workers as a result of the shutdown, Kaine added.

The senators, both Democrats, urged House Republican leaders to re-open the government, pay the nation’s bills on time and negotiate on a long term budget.

“We also need to be concerned about the longer-term impacts on our nation’s economic competitiveness, and our ability to drive innovation around the world,” Warner said.

###