White House economic advisors warn of economic spillover effect of government shutdown

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spk_0 This is a Federal News Network podcast.

spk_0 Coming up today on the Federal Newscast,

spk_0 the White House warns of the economic effect of the government shutdown.

spk_0 The Navy surpasses its fiscal 2025 recruitment goals

spk_0 and AFGE files a lawsuit against the Education Department

spk_0 over the federal out-of-office messages.

spk_0 Be stories and more on today's Federal Newscast.

spk_0 Welcome to the Federal Newscast, I'm Michelle Sandeford.

spk_0 The White House is warning of the potential for spillover effects

spk_0 into the broader economy because of the government shutdown,

spk_0 now entering its second week.

spk_0 The White House's Council of Economic Advisers says

spk_0 calculations based on the number of federal employees and federal contractors

spk_0 not being paid implied that a month-long shutdown

spk_0 would reduce consumer spending by $30 billion.

spk_0 The C.E.A. says approximately half of which

spk_0 would directly be due to federal employees and contractors not working

spk_0 and half would be due to spillover effects on other sectors.

spk_0 More broadly, C.E.A. says delays in agency processes

spk_0 ranging from small business loans to export licenses approvals

spk_0 to awarding federal contracts also would negatively impact the U.S. economy.

spk_0 The Department of the Navy has surpassed its fiscal 2025 recruiting goals.

spk_0 The service brought in over 44,000 recruits, the highest total since the early 2000s.

spk_0 That is nearly 3,500 more than the service's target of 40,600.

spk_0 Policy changes including streamlined medical waivers and hiring recruiters

spk_0 helped move recruits through the process faster.

spk_0 The service also introduced programs such as the Future Sailor Prep Course

spk_0 to bring in more recruits.

spk_0 As for its marketing strategy, the Navy introduced new recruitment ads

spk_0 for special duty jobs.

spk_0 The Education Department is facing a new lawsuit after the agency replaced

spk_0 employees out of office messages with a note that blames Democrats for the shutdown.

spk_0 The messages are sent automatically to anyone who emails a furloughed employee

spk_0 from the Education Department.

spk_0 The new lawsuit comes from the American Federation of Government employees

spk_0 alleging that the messages were changed by agency leadership

spk_0 without getting consent or giving notice to staff members.

spk_0 The union argues that the department's changes to the email messages

spk_0 violate the employee's first amendment rights.

spk_0 A non-profit says the Trump administration's shutdown messaging

spk_0 may violate federal spending law.

spk_0 Federal News Network's Justin Double Day has more.

spk_0 The Democracy Defenders Fund is urging the government accountability office

spk_0 to investigate whether agencies shutdown messages violate the Anti-Deficiency Act.

spk_0 Multiple agencies have posted statements to their websites

spk_0 blaming the shutdown on Democrats and, quote, the radical left.

spk_0 Those messages have drawn Hatch Act complaints,

spk_0 but Democracy Defenders Fund alleges the messages may also defy prohibitions

spk_0 on the use of federal funds for political propaganda.

spk_0 The agencies in question include the departments of housing and urban development,

spk_0 treasury, agriculture, justice, state, and health and human services.

spk_0 Justin Double Day, Federal News Network.

spk_0 The government shutdown is exacerbating financial challenges

spk_0 that some federal employees were already feeling.

spk_0 A recent survey found that 80 percent of federal employees listed finances

spk_0 as one of their top day-to-day stressors,

spk_0 and nearly half of the 500 feds who were surveyed

spk_0 said financial stress impacts their ability to do their job.

spk_0 Currently, hundreds of thousands of federal employees are furloughed

spk_0 under the government shutdown and won't receive a paycheck

spk_0 until after the shutdown ends.

spk_0 OFPP has its first permanent leaders in six years.

spk_0 Federal News Network's Jason Miller has the details.

spk_0 The Senate approved the nomination of Kevin Rhodes

spk_0 to lead the Office of Federal Pecurement Policy on October 2nd.

spk_0 He was a part of the approval of dozens of nominees and block.

spk_0 Rhodes is the first permanent leader of OFPP since Michael Wooten

spk_0 held the role for about 18 months starting in 2019.

spk_0 Rhodes, who has been serving as a senior adviser to OMB since February,

spk_0 has been leading the administration's efforts to remake federal procurement.

spk_0 Before joining OMB, Rhodes worked for more than three years at SISTACON,

spk_0 North America, where he was executive vice president.

spk_0 He also served in the Air Force for 25 years.

spk_0 Jason Miller, Federal News Network.

spk_0 An advocacy group representing service members in their families nationwide

spk_0 has launched a campaign encouraging the public to contact their members of Congress

spk_0 in support of the Pay Our Troops Act of 2026.

spk_0 The National Military Family Association says more than 10,000 letters have already been sent to Congress

spk_0 through its Military Family Action Center, urging lawmakers to pass the bill

spk_0 that would ensure that troops, defense departments, civilians, and Coast Guard members

spk_0 continue to receive pay and benefits during this shutdown.

spk_0 The advocacy group made it easy for the public to join the campaign.

spk_0 Supporters simply enter their name and address into a short form

spk_0 and the organization sends a pre-drafted letter to their elected officials within minutes.

spk_0 Nearly one in five agencies use artificial intelligence or machine learning

spk_0 to process public records requests.

spk_0 That's according to new data collected by the National Archives and Records Administration.

spk_0 Agencies are using AI and machine learning to help improve freedom of information act processing times.

spk_0 But NARA's Office of Government Information Services says AI and machine learning

spk_0 are not a substitute for the judgment of FOIA professionals, especially when it comes to applying exemptions to the public records law.

spk_0 You can find these stories and more on our website federalnewsnetwork.com

spk_0 and you can subscribe to the federal newscast along with the federal drive with Terry Gertn,

spk_0 wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle Sandeford.

White House economic advisors warn of economic spillover effect of government shutdown

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