No Blinking: Government Shutdown Update

The between President Trump and the Congressional leadership has wrapped up without a negotiating breakthrough, which greatly increases the changes of the government shutting down at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday. POLITICO has a good round up of the differences between the two parties and the messages after the meeting.

Both Vice President J.D. Vance and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have said that addressing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, and would cause major increases to health care insurance premiums, would be important to resolve. That may be the foundation for an eventual budget agreement but right now we are on track for a government shut down. The big question is how long it will last?

The Washington Post has a good piece on How this potential shutdown is shaping up differently from previous ones.

I am tracking to see if the National Park Service or the Forest Service release their shutdown plans. They have received limited guidance from the Office of Management and Budget making it unclear if the plans are being developed. I will share any news that I receive.

The New York Times has published What Travelers Need to Know About the Possible Government Shutdown, which has a lot of good information for answering questions from the traveling public and your community partners.

Finally, if we do go into a shutdown, give some thought now to assessing any financial impacts to your community? The loss the seasonal visitors, cancelling annual events, or postponed meetings and conferences. If this goes more than a day, there will be people looking to highlight the financial costs and the hit to tourism is a good way show community impact.