As the federal government shut down Wednesday afternoon, midnight Tuesday Washington time, Guam’s governor said the impacts to the island would depend on the length of the shutdown and the availability of prior-year funding that allows some federal programs to continue operating as normal.
Essential services like national defense and emergency response will continue, she said.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said she instructed Guam's line agencies to review and prepare contingency plans to minimize disruptions.
“The American people, including those of Guam, deserve stability and certainty, not disruption. We hope for a swift resolution so that our families, our workers, and our community can be spared the unnecessary hardships that a prolonged shutdown may bring,” Leon Guerrero stated in a news release.
In Washington, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Del. Kimberlyn King-Hinds said Tuesday that key services such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and passport processing should be unaffected.
The U.S. Postal Service, Transportation Security Administration, military and Customs and Border Protection will remain on the job.
Other services, such as federal housing applications and small business loans, could be delayed, she said.
The shutdown “may cause delays in services that families and businesses depend on,” King-Hinds said.
The shutdown came as Democrats and Republicans in the Senate failed to reach an agreement on funding measures before the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year.