HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — The economy could lose $14 billion if the government shutdown continues for another month, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated on Wednesday.
There would be billions of dollars less in real gross domestic product (GDP), the inflation-adjusted value of goods and services, if the shutdown extended to Nov. 26, according to the agency, which provides budget information to Congress.
CBO outlined the shutdown’s potential effects on real GDP if it ended Wednesday, in two weeks and at the end of November. Seven billion dollars would be lost if the government reopened immediately, while there would be $11 billion less in economic output if the shutdown ended on Nov. 12, CBO said.
“Under all three shutdown scenarios, after 2026, the level of output would return to what it would have been had there been no lapse in discretionary appropriations, but the cumulative effect of the shutdown on real GDP – measured as the sum of the quarterly differences between each scenario’s estimate of real GDP and what real GDP would have been in the absence of a shutdown – would remain slightly negative,” the agency wrote in its report.
The losses would be the result of a reduction in hours worked by furloughed federal employees, CBO noted. Government workers across the Trump administration have been away from the office during the shutdown, which started on Oct. 1.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has expressed concern over the effects of the government closure. He said in a CBS News interview on Sunday that the shutdown was starting to affect the economy and criticized Democratic members of Congress for not agreeing to a bill to fund the government.
“It’s a global embarrassment what these Democratic senators are doing, keeping the government shut down,” Bessent said.
The senators have rejected measures supported by Republicans that would fund and reopen the government, explaining that they do not address their healthcare concerns. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor on Tuesday that Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., needs to negotiate on the matter to address a developing crisis with rising insurance premiums.
“We want lower healthcare costs, now. We want to solve the [Affordable Care Act] premium crisis, now. Open enrollment is just days away. We want lower costs, better healthcare and to reopen the government,” Schumer said. “Let me repeat again what Democrats want so the leader can hear it loud and clear, the Republican leader can hear it: we want lower healthcare costs, fix the ACA premium crisis and reopen the government.”
Republican members have refused to negotiate on healthcare policy, suggesting talks on the matter take place after the shutdown ends.
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