What A Federal Shut Down Could Mean For You

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — The government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday if Congress does not pass a temporary spending bill to fund the government.

Congressional leaders on both sides are pointing fingers at each another while many people try to understand what the shutdown would mean for them.

The answer: many cuts in one direction and, in the other, steep hikes in including in the price of everyday life and work, according to District 10 Rep. Mark DeSaulnier.

District 10, including Concord, Lafayette, Martinez, Orinda, Moraga, Walnut Creek, and other towns.

He has been holding a series of online townhalls in the district including the Countdown To Republican Shutdown Townhall at 6 p.m.

More than 23,000 people in District 10 stand to lose health care coverage through Medi-Cal and Covered California, based on numbers from the House Budget Committee.

In a prolonged shutdown, about 9,391 people — including 1,587 infants and 5,206 children — in the district would lose access to Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits.

As many as 7,367 federal workers would be furloughed or forced to work without pay during a total government shutdown, in addition to employees of businesses with government contracts who could be laid off, furloughed, or see their hours cut.

The impact depends on what two sides can agree on. The most contentious issues are health care and services that provide temporary assistance to help with basic needs like housing, food, education, and utilities.

According to the California Budget and Policy Center, District 10 receives more than $15 million in Headstart funding and $46 million in CalWorks.

Families that benefit from federal child tax credits total nearly $244 million.

Nearly 11,000 people benefit from income assistance from Supplemental Social Security Income, or SSI.

Adults and children are eligible for SSI if they have little or no income or resources, if they have a disability, a sight impairment, or are 65 or older.