On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg held a briefing on the impact of the possible government shutdown that, if it happens, will affect the construction and transportation industry along with the rest of the nation.
During the briefing, Buttigieg said that a government shutdown is "threatening our economy, our national security, and leaving Americans in every state and territory less safe."
"I want to make clear the impact of a potential Republican shutdown, so that there's no confusion about what's at stake for transportation, for working families, and for all Americans," he said.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy rejected a stopgap funding bill advancing in the Senate on Wednesday, bringing Washington closer to its fourth partial shutdown of the U.S. government in a decade with just four days to go.
A shutdown would lead to the furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and the suspension of a wide range of government services, from economic data releases to nutrition benefits, until Congress manages to pass a funding bill that President Joe Biden would sign into law.
"A Republican shutdown would affect everything from national security and law enforcement to food safety and disaster relief," said Buttigieg.
Buttigieg urged that, "there is no good time for a government shutdown, but this is a particularly bad time for a government shutdown, especially when it comes to transportation."
On Monday, Buttigieg announced more than $1.4 billion in funding for projects to improve railway safety and increase capacity. About $1 billion of that funding came from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which authorized up to $108 billion for public transportation.
You can watch the full briefing below.
