Navarro Comments on Impact of Shutdown on
County Residents and Local Economy
ROCKVILLE, Md., October 3, 2013—Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro will join President Barack Obama in Rockville this morning, where he will give remarks on the government shutdown.
Council President Navarro released the following statement:
The federal government shutdown is hurting our residents and could devastate our County’s budget. 70,000 federal employees live in Montgomery County. Every day the shutdown lasts, the County loses at least $500,000 in tax revenue. That’s the same cost as hiring at least seven new police officers, firefighters, or teachers.
A small group of Congressmen are holding the whole country hostage in a feeble attempt prevent their fellow citizens from accessing affordable health insurance. Montgomery County is home to the federal government’s health and science infrastructure. We have the FDA in White Oak, NOAA in Silver Spring, the Department of Energy in Germantown and NIH in Bethesda—just to name a few federal installations. Our residents are less safe when political posturing in Washington stops doctors from finding cures to deadly diseases and scientists from inspecting our food.
I call on the obstructionists in Congress to end this ill-conceived government shutdown as soon as possible.
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