New Mexico braces for possible government shutdown

Sep. 29—Tourists waiting Friday for a shuttle to Bandelier National Monument were unhappy about the prospect of a government shutdown that would close most national parks and hoping a last-minute deal would avert it.

"I think compromise has become a dirty word, which I think is unfortunate," said Pallav Tatapudi, a tourist from Arizona.

"When it comes to parks and people's lives and jobs, it really shouldn't be so politicized," said his wife, Wendi Nations.

According to a contingency plan released Friday, In the event of a shutdown, the National Park Service will close all sites except where it is "impossible or impractical" to restrict public access,' according to a contingency plan released Friday.

The plan diverges from that of the 2018 shutdown under the Trump administration, when parks were largely left open without staff, which led to problems with people trashing and vandalizing the parks.

Most parks employees will be furloughed, while a few remain at each site to protect property and life, said David Krueger, spokesman for Valles Caldera National Preserve.

"I guess I'm just maybe hoping that they'll reach some last-minute deal," said Linda Hahn, a tourist from the Los Angeles area. "I feel like if there is going to be a solution, that will only be at the very, very last minute."

"I'm not super hopeful," said Erica Lai, a tourist from Washington, D.C., visiting the monument. She noted the lead up to the shutdown has seemed "crazier than usual."

Lai's husband, a non-essential government employee, would be furloughed during a shutdown.

"Fortunately, I work as well, so we are fine," she said. "We are not going to be the population that is the most affected, but I worry a lot about families who are living paycheck to paycheck and that's really, really difficult for them."

Closing the government will also hurt businesses like Pueblo Canyon Inn in Los Alamos. Owner Matt Allen estimates about 40% of his business comes from tourists visiting Bandelier and surrounding attractions.

"So if those were to shut down, we would definitely feel it," Allen said. "I don't want to get political ... but it's unfortunate that this is the way our government functions. I hope they can figure it out."

The shutdown will occur Sunday if Congress fails to pass spending bills to keep the government operating.

New Mexico's all-Democratic congressional delegation and governor decried the impacts a federal shutdown would have on the state, blaming it on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a handful of hard-right House Republicans.

"This looming government shutdown is wildly irresponsible," U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich told reporters Friday at an online news conference. "It's completely unnecessary, and it's utterly pointless."

New Mexico's delegates provided bleak estimates of who would be affected in the state if the shutdown happens — which is looking more likely after proposed stopgaps to keep the government temporarily open were shot down Friday in the House.

"Past shutdowns have raised interest rates, reduced economic output, and jeopardized government benefits — impacts that our recovering economy simply cannot afford," Heinrich said. "And depending on how long this drags on, this shutdown could even precipitate a recession."

U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, whose district includes Northern New Mexico and who sits on the House Rules Committee, said she heard two GOP members say the end game is to cut Social Security. She said Republicans orchestrated past shutdowns in efforts to cut the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, but to no avail.

"Every time they shut the government down, they don't achieve their objectives, but they do hurt regular Americans," she said.

Essential federal employees — such as those necessary for public safety and air traffic controllers — will remain working during a shutdown, many without pay. Others will be furloughed.

Nearly 22,000 federal employees work in New Mexico, state Department of Workforce Solutions spokeswoman Stacy Johnston said, citing numbers published last week by the Congressional Research Service.

About 11,000 military personnel stationed in New Mexico face the prospect of not being paid during the shutdown, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez said during the news conference. A shutdown also would halt pay to 19,000 U.S. Border Patrol agents and 25,000 field operations officers who oversee the country's ports of entry at the border stretching through several states, including New Mexico.

Suspending funds to protect the southern border will leave it less secure, Vasquez said.

"It is counter to the message that Republicans have consistently delivered about trying to add more resources to make sure that we keep our community safe at our ports of entry," he said.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also expressed dismay at the impending shutdown.

"The governor is deeply concerned by Republicans' inability to pass legislation funding the federal government," Caroline Sweeney, the governor's spokesperson, wrote in an email. "This administration will do everything in our power to ensure that New Mexicans are not harmed by this needless shutdown."

A shutdown wouldn't affect the $4 billion in federal funds to aid victims of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire because that money has already been appropriated. However, it would hinder the claims process as most of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's staff would be furloughed.

Los Alamos National Laboratory officials say they have funds to keep operating in a shutdown. However, U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján said in a news release that Los Alamos and Sandia labs won't have funds available to buy materials, hurting local businesses.

Once funding resumes after a shutdown, federal employees who worked without pay receive back pay. Furloughed employees can file for unemployment benefits on the first day of the shutdown — without having to search for employment, as is usually required — but will have to repay the state any benefits they receive at the end of the shutdown. Unemployment benefits range from $101 to $542 per week, with an additional $25 per dependent, Johnston said.

A shutdown would halt federal funding to pueblos and tribes in New Mexico, "resulting in decreased public safety, interruptions in tribal government operations, tribal social services and welfare programs, infrastructure projects, economic development, and general administration," Luján said.

And, he said, people on food, cash and child care assistance programs could also see their benefits put at risk, including the roughly 481,000 New Mexicans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. While SNAP will extend through October, if a government shutdown were to last into November, it would disrupt benefits, the Food Depot, a nonprofit food bank serving Northern New Mexico, said in a news release Thursday.

Funds for the 39,000 New Mexicans receiving Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children could end within a few days of a government shutdown, according to the Food Depot, which is preparing to address needs for increased food assistance with supplemental food and wraparound services.

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.