{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221070401/http://bishop.house.gov/press-release/congressman-bishop-statement-regarding-government-shutdown", "CONGRESSMAN BISHOP STATEMENT REGARDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN", "2013-10-01", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "Sanford Bishop", "B000490", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop (GA-02) released a statement regarding the failure of Congress to pass a budget or \u2018continuing resolution\u2019 to fund the government and keep services open for all Americans:\n\u201cAs you may have heard, rather than seek a bipartisan consensus, a small minority in the United States Congress resorted to brinksmanship at the eleventh hour in order to achieve their goals, forcing the government to shutdown. Frankly, I do not believe the Founders of our great nation intended for Congress to shun its constitutional and moral responsibility to keep the government operating for all Americans. It\u2019s no wonder that the American people are mighty fed up.\n\u201cThis partisan bickering is threatening the livelihoods of millions of Americans, rattling the stock market, threatening investments, and potentially disrupting our long-term economic recovery. Locally, many vital services that veterans, seniors, families, small business, and our communities rely on for healthcare, education, and economic development will be delayed. Federal offices have closed and many hard-working Americans are going unpaid.\n\u201cEveryday Americans employed by the Federal Government will be met with hardship at work and at home. Rent, taxes, mortgages, children\u2019s tuition, food, and travel all will be impacted as paychecks are delayed. As hundreds of thousands of employees wait for their pay, local economies and communities will feel the brunt of Congress\u2019 failure to pass a funding bill.\n\u201cRecalling the lessons we learned after the last government shutdown in 1995-1996, I remember first-hand how it affected Middle and Southwest Georgia. It didn\u2019t make sense then and it surely doesn\u2019t make sense now. I remain hopeful that we can stop this manufactured crisis and end this Republican government shutdown for the good of the American people.\u201d\nAs a guide on affected government programs, please note the designations below on what services will be affected during this government shutdown:\nU.S. Military:\nNearly 1.4 million active duty military personnel deployed at home and overseas defending our nation\u2019s interests will be paid for their work during the shutdown, but civilian employees are subject to furloughs.\nFederal Workers:\nHundreds of thousands of Federal employees are immediately and indefinitely furloughed, and many Federal employees and contractors that continue to work will not be paid during the shutdown, including many at Fort Benning, the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, and Robins Air Force Base.\nNational Parks and Museums:\nAll national parks and federal wildlife refuges are closed for the duration of the shutdown, including the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site and the Andersonville National Historic Site. About 9 million visitors were turned away from parks, museums, and monuments run by the National Park Service in the mid-1990s, the last time the government shut down temporarily.\nHead Start:\n19,000 children have been left without Head Start Services.\nHousing:\nHousing loans to low and middle income families in rural and urban communities are put on hold, as will start-up business loans for farmers and ranchers.\nJobs and Small Business:\nSBA will stop approving applications for small businesses to obtain loans and loan guarantees.\u00a0In a typical month, SBA approves over $1 billion in loan assistance to small businesses. Army Corps of Engineers construction has stopped, hurting private companies, preventing job creation, and forcing closure or reduced hours for 2,500 Corps of Engineers Sites.\nVeterans Services:\nMost services offered through the Department of Veterans Affairs will continue, though they may be delayed due to furloughs. Additionally, VA claim processor\u2019s output could drop from 6500 to 4500 claims a day, decreasing the VA\u2019s effectiveness of cutting into its claims backlog. Operators will continue to staff the crisis hotline and claims workers will still process payments to cover disability and pension benefits. Those veterans appealing the denial of disability benefits to the Board of Veterans Appeals will have to wait longer for a decision because the Board will not issue any decisions during a shutdown.\nMedicare, Medicaid, Social Security:\nSocial Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other mandatory programs will not be affected for existing recipients, though providers\u2019 payments to doctors and hospitals may be delayed. Processing of new applications and other administrative duties may be delayed due to furloughs.\nScience:\nImportant government research into life-threatening diseases, environmental protection, and other areas would be halted. NASA will furlough almost all of its employees, but it will continue to keep workers at Mission Control in Houston and elsewhere to support the International Space Station.\nMail:\nDeliveries would continue as usual because the U.S. Postal Service receives no tax dollars for day-to-day operations. It relies on income from stamps and other postal fees to operate.\nCourts:\nFederal courts will continue to operate normally for about 10 business days after the start of a shutdown. If the shutdown continues, the judiciary will have to begin furloughs of employees whose work is not considered essential. Cases will continue to be heard. The U.S. Supreme Court also is scheduled to begin its new term on October 7. In previous government shutdowns, it continued to operate as normal.\nFor more information, please refer to the Congressional Research Service guide, \u201cShutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects.\u201d\n###\n\u00a0\nPlease click here to access my guide, Government Shutdown: What You Need to Know.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221070401/http://bishop.house.gov/press-release/congressman-bishop-statement-regarding-government-shutdown"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.955361269414425, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}