St. Mary's County commissioners voted unanimously to send a letter to U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer, Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks urging them to approve a clean continuing resolution and reopen the federal government, the commissioners said during a county meeting.

The commissioners said the county's proximity to Patuxent River Naval Air Station means many residents face furloughs or the prospect of lost paychecks, and they asked senators to act to prevent further local economic harm. "The government shutdown has now reached the point of being the second longest shutdown in our nation's history and is being driven purely by politics," one commissioner said while reading a draft of the letter. "We are asking you to overcome the politics of the day and cross party lines and reopen our government."

The vote followed a motion by the commissioner who read the draft letter. The motion directed that, if the federal shutdown had not been resolved by Thursday, the county should send the draft to Sens. Schumer, Van Hollen and Alsobrooks with the signatures of any commissioners who wished to join. A second was made and the ayes were recorded; the clerk counted four commissioners in favor and no recorded opposition, producing a 4-0 approved outcome.

During discussion before and while reading the draft, the commissioner noted local concerns about how different groups tied to the base are funded. "The NAUC group on the base is Navy working capital and that means their money is not appropriated from Congress...so they don't really get furloughed right away, but when they run out of money, then they have to stop working," the commissioner said, describing how some base-linked employees might be affected over time. The commissioner also said the county lacks authority and funds to offer local loans like the state has done, so advocacy to higher levels of government is one of the county's primary responses.

The draft letter read into the record said, in part: "Dear Senator, we write on behalf of the residents of Saint Mary's County and the entire nation to ask that you break this stalemate, cross partisan lines, and vote to approve a clean continuing resolution to fund the government and pay the hardworking Americans who are still doing critical work. Our proximity to Washington, D.C., and the presence of Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Saint Mary's County means that we have many residents who are furloughed or soon will be furloughed and are going without paychecks in spite of the fact that many are still doing vital national security work." That text was presented by the commissioner as the basis for the letter the county will send if the shutdown continues.

The approved motion specified the letter be sent by Thursday if there is no change in federal funding status and that the letter include the signatures of any commissioners who opt in. The county did not set a departmental implementation task other than to send the letter; no local loan program, emergency payroll measure or direct county financial assistance was authorized during the meeting.

Commissioners present were recorded as four voting in favor. The motion does not create a binding county policy beyond the approved letter and signatures; it directs the clerk or designated staff to transmit the correspondence to the named senators if the shutdown remains in effect.

The action follows commissioners' comments about rising local consequences from the shutdown and the expectation that impacts could increase if furloughs expand among base-affiliated workers.