Oregon’s rural counties hit hardest by shutdown

Oregon Journalism Project

OREGON — As the government shutdown stretches into its fourth week, most of the nearly 23,000 federal employees in Oregon are still going without pay — including many required to keep working during the shutdown, such as airport screeners and air traffic controllers.

Analysis by OJP indicates that back pay for Oregon’s federal workers, mandated by the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, has surpassed $140 million already.

Federal jobs are spread across all 36 Oregon counties, but the shutdown punishes some counties more than others.

Sherman County is the hardest hit; federal employees there make up 14% of the workforce and account for more than a quarter of the county’s total annual wages, according to state figures. Many are employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a branch of the nation’s Department of Defense.

The precise impact of the shutdown is difficult to measure, says Nicole Ramos, the Oregon Employment Department’s regional economist for the Columbia Gorge.

“Not all federal government workers are furloughed, and some are not funded by appropriations,” Ramos says. “Not every federal worker is going unpaid at the moment.”

For example, the U.S. Postal Service, an independent agency, continues to operate and pay its employees. President Trump also signed an order that ensured paychecks for active duty military personnel were issued Oct. 15.

Members of Congress continue to receive pay during a government shutdown, but their staff is subject to furlough.

Some unpaid federal employees in Oregon are eligible to receive unemployment benefits, Ramos says.

Federal employees filed 39 new unemployment claims in Oregon in the first two weeks of the government shutdown, according to state data. They may need to repay that money if they receive back pay once the government reopens.

The current shutdown, which started Sept. 30, is the second longest in U.S. history. If the shutdown continues through the end of October, active military service members may no longer be paid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (i.e., food stamps) will stop.

House Republicans passed a temporary funding bill that has consistently failed in the Senate. While Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, 53 seats, they need 60 votes to advance the bill and reopen the government.

Democrats are refusing to support legislation unless it extends expiring health insurance tax credits. Across the country, health insurance prices for people who use the Affordable Care Act marketplace are already on the rise, according to a report by the health policy website KFF.

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This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project (oregonjournalismproject.org), a nonprofit investigative newsroom for the state of Oregon.