U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer told reporters today that the federal government shutdown is not hampering the rollout of the Affordable Care Act in California, but it is damaging the state’s economy.
Boxer says some 50,000 of California’s estimated 169,000 federal employees have been furloughed. She called on House Republicans to restart the government immediately with back pay for furloughed workers.
“Yes, let’s pay people. They were hired to do their job. Get them back on the job. Pay them their back pay and open up the government. Do it all in one bill,” Boxer said.
She says the shutdown is also damaging tourism, which is the state’s third-largest industry. National parks like Yosemite and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area continue to turn away visitors.
"Any park that’s shut down, or any facility that’s shut down, all of this is having a terrible terrible effect,” Boxer said.
Moody’s Investors Services is forecasting that if the shutdown continues for a month it could reduce the nation’s gross domestic product by nearly 1.5 percent.
