On its 36th day, the federal government shutdown is the longest in U.S. history. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., acknowledged various forms of tangible pain are broadening.
“This is very painful,” Capito said during a briefing with West Virginia reporters.
“You see the Secretary of Transportation warning of traffic delays and pull back of air traffic controllers. We know in West Virginia, our food banks are extremely busy filling a gap that should never have existed, and that is the lack of SNAP funding for our families.”
The Republican majority in the U.S. Senate has called for stopgap funding for the federal government. Democrats have been holding out for a reversal of changes to Medicaid from the Big Beautiful Bill, an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies and greater congressional leverage on executive branch financial decisions.
“Well, the hang ups are that we can’t get the Democrats to open the government before we begin negotiating. That’s always been the deal,” Capito said.
“The leader in the Senate, the Republican leader, has said all along he’s willing — and many of us have said this, including the President — to talk about the premium subsidy issue in health health care, but they’re unwilling to open the government to begin those discussions.”
The Trump administration announced flight reductions starting at the end of this week at some of America’s largest airports to ease pressure on air traffic controllers and other frontline aviation personnel working without pay as the government shutdown continues.
Meanwhile, federal food assistance support has been disrupted, affecting 42 million Americans as the shutdown drags on. Federal courts have directed the Trump administration to use emergency contingency funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
About 275,000 West Virginians — 16% of the state’s population — are supported by SNAP benefits. The total amount necessary to fund SNAP benefits in West Virginia for a month is about $47 million.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced that West Virginia has now released more than $11 million to food banks to prepare for increased demand.
“Every day we’re looking at the situation closely,” Morrisey said. “At this time, it was prudent to send another infusion to the food banks so that they stay ahead of the demand.”
Capito said talks are continuing in Washington, D.C., but she can’t say when there will be positive movement.
“The refusal and the obstruction and the hijacking of the American people has got to come to an end,” Capito said. “There’s some blue sky that maybe it will but there are no promises here.”