Government Shutdown affects on SC

Several thousand federal employees in South Carolina are being forced to stay home due to the government shutdown. Data from the Office of Personal Management show that there are over 22,000 federal employees in South Carolina. A large majority, but not all, will be affected. Active-duty military personnel and civilian employees needed to support essential military operations at Fort Jackson and Shaw Air Force Base will continue to work, but their pay will be delayed. All others will be furloughed, including about half of the civilian workers. About 1,000 full-time employees with the South Carolina National Guard will also be furloughed. All six national parks in the state have been forced to close.  Residents waiting for approval of a government-backed loan, through either the Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Administration or U.S. Department of Agriculture will be delayed. Processing of federal small business loans also would stop. Members of Congress will still get paid during the shutdown, but some say they are not happy with that part of the law. In a statement, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “I should not get a congressional salary while other federal employees are denied the ability to go to work. I’m going to take my congressional salary during the government shutdown and donate it to the Wounded Warrior Project.”