Government contractors lose $12B in first month of government shutdown - report

[United States Capitol Building in Washington DC public building]

Federal contractors have lost an estimated $12B in just four weeks of the government shutdown, according to a report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce published Thursday.

Some 65.5K small businesses nationwide are losing roughly $3B each week as federal payments and projects remain on hold.

The report [https://www.uschamber.com/small-business/federal-contracts-reliable-revenue-for-small-businesses-until-a-shutdown?state=ny] found that Maryland and Virginia have the most federal contractors at risk from the impasse, which has been ongoing since Oct. 1.

"For many of these small businesses, federal contracts represent a sizable portion of their overall revenue," Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the Chamber of Commerce, wrote in a supplementary letter.

When a shutdown ends, he added, federal workers are guaranteed back pay by law, though that same protection does not extend to the contractors who serve alongside them.

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