Congressman Balderson Discusses Possible Government Shutdown

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – You may have heard the phrase ‘Congress Controls the Purse Strings.’ 

That fact is being showcased in Washington D.C. this week as Congress is finalizing next year’s government budget. A deal must be made between both political parties before October 1st or else many government agencies will be forced to shut down.

United States House of Representatives, Ohio 12th District Congressman Troy Balderson stopped by earlier in the week, before heading to our nation’s capital to discuss how the budget negotiations work.

“I think that Speaker McCarthy is doing a phenomenal job in trying to lead this conference,” Balderson said. “We’ve come up with a couple of proposals but you know we go back tomorrow, so we’ll see. We’re going to keep working on it. We’re not giving up. If it goes down to the last hour or two of the weekend, then so be it. That’s what we’ll do.”

With the national debt climbing to more than $33 Trillion dollars, Balderson believes that government spending is out of control and that conversations surrounding federal finances are very much needed.

A government shutdown will disrupt some government agencies but many vital programs will continue uninterrupted.

“Social Security and Medicare will not be affected by this at all,” Balderson said. “So I want to make that very clear because elderly will have concerns with that, about their Social Security. You know I think the biggest stand point for us is, you know staff can be impacted by this. We will make our staff essential, so they will continue to work. TSA agents will still continue to work, they will not be paid during this timeframe but they will be what you call… they’ll get back pay.”

Balderson remains confident that an agreement will be reached but noted that the nation has bounced back from shutdowns in the past.