Federal Government Shutdown Looms Again; League Asks CUs to Share Plans to Aid Affected Members

As we move closer toward a potential partial shutdown of the federal government, your League is carefully monitoring the situation and engaging with lawmakers. We continue to emphasize how a shutdown will harm credit union members, the regional economy, and credit unions themselves.

Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia are home to more than 400,000 civilian federal employees, meaning the impact of a shutdown on regional credit unions stands to be significant.

The threat of a government shutdown has been a key topic of discussion for months. We used our Legislative Receptions last summer, recent Hike The Hill events, and letters to every member of the Virginia Congressional Delegation, to urge lawmakers to avoid a shutdown. We continued our outreach efforts in recent weeks and will make funding the federal government a legislative priority in our meetings next week with Virginia's Congressional Delegation as part of our GAC "Hike The Hill" initiatives.

“Virginia-based credit unions serve the financial needs of thousands of federal workers and their families, as well as government contractors. We understand the financial hardships members will face in the event of a shutdown, and credit unions are proudly putting our service-focused philosophy to work by offering various assistance programs,” said Virginia Credit Union League Chief Advocacy Officer JT Blau.

Various news outlets are reporting that President Biden is calling congressional leaders to the White House as the clock ticks toward a partial government shutdown Friday night. House Speaker Mike Johnson told Republican colleagues last Friday night that lawmakers should expect to vote to finalize spending levels for federal agencies whose funding expires this week. But Republican infighting in the House raises the prospect that a temporary shutdown may be unavoidable.

After lawmakers passed a short-term funding bill in January, Congress is now confronted with a pair of shutdown deadlines – on March 1 and March 8.

How are you planning to help members?

Please complete our brief survey to let us know what you plan as far as assistance to workers affected by the shutdown.