The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
October 6, 2025 – MONTGOMERY, AL – The government shutdown has now stretched for 37 days and lawmakers in D.C. are not optimistic that there will be a resolution anytime soon to the partisan impasse. Senate Democrats are refusing to consent to a routine continuing resolution (CR) that would give the parties more time to work on the 2026 budget – which was supposed to be finished by September 30 but now appears impossibly delayed.
The number of Alabamians affected by the shutdown continue to grow as the executive branch struggles to keep essential operations going without adequate funding to do that.
Approximately 57,000 federal employees in Alabama have been furloughed or are working without pay during the ongoing government shutdown.
Around 57,000 Alabamians are employed by the federal government. That represents about 2.7% of Alabama’s total workforce. Most of these employees have either been furloughed or are working without pay since the shutdown began on October 1. Those employees, some of them working in essential roles like air traffic control have missed at least two full pay periods, with no guarantee at this time that they will receive back pay. Alabama has a 5% income tax that is deducted from all of those checks. When they don’t get paid the state of Alabama Treasury does not get paid. Additionally, those workers spend most of their take home pay. The state of Alabama along with the counties and municipalities collect up to 10.5% (depending on the locality and whether or not it is a grocery item) on most of the money that those workers spend. That is cutting into sales tax receipts for the state. It also affects the businesses where the federal workers would have spent their funds. Taking that 2.7% out of the economic mix for the state impacts businesses (both large and small) which will negatively impact the corporate taxes the state collects.
The Council of Economic Advisers estimates Alabama’s Gross State Product is declining by $169 million per week due to the shutdown.
Starting on November 1, the shutdown will begin to impact Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Beneficiaries. Over 700,000 Alabamians rely on SNAP (food stamps) benefits.
Governor Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Human Resources have allocated $5 million in emergency state funding to help cover SNAP disruptions.
“There are real Alabama families who rely on SNAP to put food on their tables, and that includes more than 300,000 children, more than 102,000 seniors and those who are disabled,” said Gov. Ivey. “That is why I am directing $2 million in emergency funding to go towards food banks serving the people of our state,” said Governor Ivey. “We are now in the longest federal government shutdown in history, and it is absolutely ridiculous that families all across our country are suffering – whether that is the school children who rely on SNAP, the air traffic controller not receiving a paycheck or even our military and high number of federal government worker families in Alabama. Hear me loud and clear when I say Alabama cannot be both the state and federal government. And like states all across the country, Alabama is stepping up to help, but this is not sustainable by any means. U.S. Senate Democrats must vote to reopen the federal government now.”
SNAP beneficiaries who do receive a cut in benefits along with federal workers who have not been paid are being urged to go to food pantries and other assistance venues for food until the government shutdown comes to a close.
Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-07) was at the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama in Birmingham on Tuesday to help fill food boxes for the underprivileged. The Community Food Bank serves 6,000 families and averages 40 to 50 food deliveries a week. Since the government shutdown that number has doubled.
Ginger Pegues is the development director with the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama.
“We can provide four meals for every dollar,” donated said Pegues. “We need food shelf stable food like peanut butter. If you need food - No questions asked we will take care of you.”
Pegues said that she needs donations to purchase food, shelf stable food like peanut butter, and volunteers to help fill the boxes and unload the pallets.
“The average SNAP benefit the receive is between $6 and $10 dollars a day,” said Sewell. “Most of them are the working poor.” “This is the first government shutdown where SNAP benefits have been cut down during the shutdown,” said Sewell.
Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) urged the able bodied on SNAP to get jobs.
“A lot of people deserve the SNAP,” said Tuberville but he also argued that “young men on SNAP should be working”.
Tuberville emphasized that, “We can’t let our people go hungry”.
Seniors who get their Social Security benefits wired into their bank accounts have not been impacted. Around 7,000 seniors without bank accounts who still get a paper check mailed to them are reportedly experiencing delays from the shutdown.
112,000 recipients of Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) support in Alabama are at risk of losing benefits as local contingency funds run dry.
VA medical centers, outpatient clinics, and Vet Centers in Alabama remain open. This includes facilities in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, and Huntsville. These services are protected by advance appropriations, meaning they were funded ahead of time and are classified as essential.
Non-essential veterans services have been paused during the shutdown. These services include: Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) counseling, the GI Bill Hotline, VA regional benefits offices are closed to the public, transition briefings for service members preparing to leave the military have been halted, and cemetery maintenance at national sites like Fort Mitchell and Mobile have been paused, though burials continue.
Tuberville has co-sponsored the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, which would force Congress to stay in session until a budget is passed. He said, “Where I come from, you stay at work until you get the job done”.
To learn more about the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama.
To comment or ask a question email brandonmreporter@gmail.com
THE VIEWS OF SUBMITTED EDITORIALS MAY NOT BE THE EXPRESS VIEWS OF THE ALABAMA GAZETTE.
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