As a longtime resident of the Washington, D.C., area, I am acutely aware of the federal government’s impact on the region’s economy and overall health.
Many of my friends and neighbors are federal employees or contractors, who have lost jobs over the past year. In addition, recent college and post-college graduates, including several strong job candidates I know, have had trouble finding work in the area. This is largely due to the massive layoffs that occurred earlier this year as a result of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce via its new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The recent government shutdown, which has impacted at least 750,000 workers throughout the country, has only exacerbated the situation. Many who were lucky to have survived DOGE’s axe are now furloughed or working without pay. An increasing number are turning to side jobs, like driving for rideshare companies, to pay their bills as the shutdown drags on.
Turning to Help
Others, sadly, have had to rely on local food banks to feed their families.
A May 2025 report from the D.C.-based Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) found that 41% of households affected by federal job and spending cuts were food insecure or faced food-related hardships. CAFB’s leader recently told Bloomberg News that during the last government shutdown, the organization began to see an influx of government workers needing help after two weeks—when furloughed workers would have missed one paycheck. After four weeks, the number of people in line for food doubled.
As we approach the fifth week of the current shutdown, the amount of suffering continues to grow.
While there are more federal employees in California and Texas than in the metropolitan D.C. area, 40% of our local economy is based on the federal government, according to George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis.
Unemployment rates for D.C., Virginia and Maryland have grown faster than nearly every other state this year. That happened prior to the current shutdown under which the Trump administration is hoping to slash another 10,000 jobs as part of its goals of “shuttering the bureaucracy.” To make things worse, the unemployment numbers are expected to continue to rise as federal employees, who accepted deferred resignation offers six months ago, are now moving off the payrolls.
Even if you don’t know many federal workers and don’t feel like the shutdown is impacting you personally, it actually is. According to a new Congressional Budget Office study, the U.S. economy will lose $7-14 billion depending on how much longer the shutdown continues.
Impact on 340B Operations and Oversight
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that oversees important programs serving our most vulnerable patient populations, including the 340B drug discount program and funding for community health centers, has experienced major layoffs.
At least 700 HRSA staffers—about a quarter of its workforce—were let go as part of DOGE’s initial cuts. The administration tried to fire another 99 HRSA employees in mid-October, but those cuts appear to be on hold, for now, due to a court order.
Shockingly, the administration plans to eliminate HRSA altogether, and shift its operations to other subagencies, under a reorganization plan that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in March.
HRSA’s Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA), which oversees the 340B program, had 21 full-time employees heading into the 2025 fiscal year, which began last October. The understaffed team, which isn’t paid generously and is based in the expensive D.C. area, has a solid reputation and is vital to 340B operations.
It is unclear how many OPA employees have been affected by furloughs or layoffs, but my understanding is that most, if not the entire office, may be out of work right now. Federal contractors for Apexus, the 340B program’s prime vendor, and the Bizzell team, which conducts audits of providers and manufactures, are still performing their important services and getting paid. But important functions and decisions about enrollment, compliance and enforcement of the 340B program can only be handled by OPA professionals, so their pile of work continues to climb.
Light at the End of the Tunnel?
While it seems like there is no resolution to the shutdown in sight, I am hopeful cooler heads will soon prevail.
One of the reasons for my guarded optimism relates largely to pay for congressional and administration staff. Members of Congress and the president are not impacted financially by the shutdown, but their staff are. For instance, congressional staffers and the Capitol Police force missed their first paychecks on Oct. 15. Their likely frustration will continue to grow if they have to keep working without pay. The staff will get back pay eventually, but many live paycheck-to-paycheck and can’t go on too long without getting paid.
In addition, more and more Americans, particularly in red states, are expected to soon see their health insurance premiums for 2026 spike. And funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as foodstamps, is expected to end Nov. 1.
Hopefully, lessons will be learned from this latest government shutdown. An important one being that federal workers should get the recognition and praise they deserve.
