As the federal government struggles to agree on a yearly budget and heads toward a government shutdown, federal offices and parks around Chattanooga face possible closures, and employees and contractors could face furloughs or unpaid work.
While a short shutdown would have limited effects in and around Chattanooga, the longer the potential shutdown lasts the worse the pain would be, local and federal officials say.
“I have worked for months to avoid a government shutdown,” U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Southeast Tennessee, said by phone Friday. “I have served through three, and they are never good. … It indicates a failure.”