Immediate and Long-term Effects on Security of

our Food System During a Lapse in Federal

Appropriations

Janell Hendren
Associate Director, Public
Policy & Food Safety Programs

Critical Infrastructure
Partnership Advisory
Council: Food and
Agriculture GCC

April 10, 2019

Overview of Presentation
• Introduction of NASDA

• Immediate/Short-Term Effects

• Long-Term Effects

• Mitigation
About NASDA: Who We Are
 Beal
Jasper (Comm)
(Comm)

Tebbetts
Sandison (Sec)
(Dir) Lebeaux
Thomas Goehring (Comm)
(Dir) (Comm) Petersen
(Dir) Ball
Pfaff Ayars
Taylor (Comm)
(Sec) (Chief)
(Dir) Gould Vanneman McDowell
(Dir) Miyamoto (Sec) (Dir) Redding Hurlbert
(Dir) Naig (Sec) (Comm)
Pelanda
Wellman (Sec) Kettler (Dir)
Ott (Dir) Leonhardt Fisher
(Dir) Sullivan (Dir) (Comm) Bronaugh
Adams (Sec)
(Dir) (Comm)
(Comm) Greenberg Quarles
Ross Beam Chinn Scuse
(Comm) (Comm) Troxler
(Sec) (Sec) (Dir) (Sec)
(Comm)
Hatcher Bartenfelder
Arthur (Comm) Weathers
Killian Ward (Sec)
(Sec) (Comm)
(Dir) (Sec)
Witte Black
(Sec/Dir) Gipson
(Comm)
(Comm) Pate
Strain (Comm)
(Comm) Fried
Miller (Comm)
Schade (Comm)
(Dir)

NEASDA
SASDA
Shimabukuro-
Geiser MASDA
(Chairperson)
NASDA Member & Regional Overview WASDA
Alaska Hawaii (as of February 2019) Denotes Elected
Sources
• Office of Management and Budget, Impacts and Costs of the
October 2013 Federal Government Shutdown (November 2013),
accessed on March 19, 2019
• Congressional Research Service, Shutdown of the Federal
Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects (December 10, 2018),
accessed on March 19, 2019
• Murray, Justin, CRS Resources on the FY2014 Funding Gap,
Shutdown, and Status of Appropriations, accessed on March 19,
2019
• Keegan, Natalie, CRS Report R43467 Federal Aid to State and
Local Governments: Select Issues Raised by a Federal Government
Shutdown, accessed on March 19, 2019
Preparing for a Lapse
• Lapses are unpredictable.

• Agencies begin preparations between 7-10 days before a lapse.

▫ Some work will immediately stall
▫ Workforce has little time to personally prepare
▫ Focus in the past has been inward
▫ Contingency plans typically get updated as we approach a new
lapse rather than immediately following a previous lapse
▫ Contingency plans are meant to be short-term
▫ Tone is set by the administration
Immediate Impacts (Full Shutdown)
• “Essential Personnel”
▫ Slows response time to emergencies
▫ Federal only, not state
▫ Immediate state furloughs
▫ Examples:
 Meat and poultry inspectors
 APHIS inspectors
• Not Essential
▫ Pest Management
▫ Animal Disease Surveillance
▫ Researchers
▫ Policy
▫ Grants/Contracts (depending)
Short-term Impacts (contd.)
• General
▫ Trainings cancelled
▫ Grantees work with federal contacts to shutdown or “float” programs
▫ Confusion on deadlines (federal register, program applications)
• USDA
▫ SNAP, School lunch, egg surveillance, APHIS herd cert, NASS reports
▫ Markets roiled
▫ Delayed payments to farmers causing financial stress
• FDA/CDC
▫ Slightly delayed emergency response
▫ Depends on timing of lapse
• Department of Labor/DHS/State
• EPA
Long-term Impacts
• Economic Impact
▫ $24b in 2013 (full shutdown, 16 days)
▫ $11b in 2018-19 (partial shutdown, 35 days) but mostly food & ag
• Federal and State Workforce
▫ “Brain Drain”
▫ Loss of institutional knowledge
▫ Cost of replacement
• Recovery Time of Current Projects/Implementations
▫ Farm Bill Implementation
▫ FSMA
• Pest resurgence
• Research lost
Food for thought: Mitigation
In a political climate where lapses in federal
appropriations are more common, what
steps can we take to mitigate its impacts to
the security of the nation’s food supply?
Janell Hendren
Associate Director,
Public Policy and
Food Safety

Janell.Hendren@nasda.org