Oregon seniors worry what government shutdown will mean

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — At a senior center in Northeast Portland, people are concerned about what a government shutdown — which could happen as soon as 9 p.m. PT Tuesday — would actually mean for them. And there are a number of issues.

Some were concerned they would not be able to get through on phone lines if workers are furloughed. For example, Social Security will stop sending paper checks on Wednesday. Instead, payments will be through direct deposit into bank accounts only.

Other seniors are worried about access to healthcare and federal food benefits.

“This is like a lifeline in regards to housing and food and medical,” said Amber Kern Johnson, the director of The Community for Positive Aging (formerly the Hollywood Senior Center.) “This is about stability and the possibility of not having those programs very soon, like tomorrow (Wednesday). It’s imminent. It creates a lot of fear for a community that already feel pretty vulnerable.”

However, mail service would continue. Airports will function normally with air traffic controllers on the job. And Social Security and Medicare are labeled essential services.

Oregon’s members of Congress told KOIN 6 News their offices will be open and operating and can provide help for any and all constituents.

Brink of shutdown

(AP) — With a government shutdown just hours away, Democrats and Republicans angrily blamed each other and refused to budge from their positions Tuesday, unable to find agreement or even negotiate as hundreds of thousands of federal workers stood to be furloughed or laid off.

President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans say they won’t entertain any changes to the legislation, arguing that it’s a stripped-down, “clean” bill that should be noncontroversial.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), said Republicans “are not going to be held hostage” by the Democrats’ demands. The GOP-led House was on a weeklong recess, unavailable for immediate votes even if the Senate did find bipartisan agreement. And far from entering into negotiations, Trump instead posted a fake, mocking video of Democrats on Monday evening after the White House meeting.

On Tuesday, Trump threatened retribution, saying a shutdown could include “cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like.”

The last shutdown was in Trump’s first term, from December 2018 to January 2019, when he demanded that Congress give him money for his U.S.-Mexico border wall. Trump retreated after 35 days — the longest shutdown ever — amid intensifying airport delays and missed paydays for federal workers.

Those federal workers include National Guard troops who may be deployed to Portland.