Commerce secretary warns shutdown starting to affect private companies

Commerce secretary warns shutdown starting to affect private companies

The US Commerce Secretary has warned that federal government shutdown is beginning to hurt the business sector.
“The shutdown is not good for business. It’s not good for the economy,” said Penny Pritzker at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on Sunday.
“And we need to move in with the business of doing business in the United States. So, I am hopeful this gets resolved soon. It’s obviously having an impact,” she continued.
As many as 800,000 federal workers have been out of work since the political wrangling between the Democrats and Republicans closed down the government six days ago.
The US commerce secretary added that one particular problem the shutdown has created for the economy and private companies is that they have no longer access to vital economic data which is normally provided by the website of the commerce department.
A message posted on the website of the commerce secretary says it has not been updated since October 1 because its staff is not working due to the government closure.
“We’re a huge source of data for American business and that is a problem… It’s affecting businesses and it’s affecting their ability to get data,” she said.
The US giant defense contractor, Lockheed Martin, said on Friday that it would put 3,000 workers on unpaid leave from Monday and the number will increase if the shutdown continues.
Lockheed’s chief executive and president has issued a statement denouncing US lawmakers for failing to reach a deal on country’s budget.
“I’m disappointed that we must take these actions and we continue to encourage our lawmakers to come together to pass a funding bill that will end this shutdown,” according to the statement by Marillyn Hewson.
The US government was forced to shut down its non-essential services on October 1 when the Republican-led House of Representatives refused to approve money for government operations. The lawmakers demanded that the administration should first delay Obama’s new health care law known as the Obamacare.
Democrats say they do not negotiate with Republicans over the budget issues until they approve a temporary bill to reopen the government.