Home to one of the largest number of federal employees nationwide, Maryland continues to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue every day due to the federal government shutdown.
As of June, the Office of the Maryland Comptroller estimates close to 230,000 Marylanders are employed by the federal government, while another 200,000 or so work as federal contractors.
Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman says the state is losing roughly $700,000 in state revenue per day amid the ongoing shutdown, which accounts for approximately 1% of Maryland’s daily revenue of around $100 million.
“That is a small piece of our overall state budget, but as long as all our federal workers are paid what they are owed, that money will get back to us,” Lierman said.
Lierman is referring to furloughed federal employees receiving back pay once the shutdown ends, but President Donald Trump has publicly floated the idea of denying that pay.
Wednesday, more than 150 U.S. lawmakers wrote a letter to the Trump administration, including all Democratic members of Maryland’s federal delegation, demanding back pay be granted at the end of the shutdown.
Those signees, along with Maryland Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth, argue back pay for furloughed federal workers during a shutdown is legally guaranteed under the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act.
Congress passed the measure as part of a deal to end the 35-day partial shutdown – the longest government shutdown in U.S. history – during President Donald Trump’s first term in office.
“There's been confusion started by the president and the [U.S. Office of Management and Budget] director that they are implying they will not provide that pay to federal employees who are either furloughed or essential employees right now working without a paycheck – that would be blatantly illegal, and we will use every tool we have, both in Congress and in the courts, to remedy that if the president or the OMB director seek to take that illegal action,” Elfreth said.
During the previous 35-day partial shutdown in 2019, Maryland reportedly lost over $13 million each day in statewide economic activity and roughly $550,000 daily in state revenues.
But the shutdown isn’t the only federal activity negatively impacting Maryland’s economy.
Elfreth notes anchor institutions like the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center (BWMC) and John Hopkins are among the research universities across the nation losing federal grant funding.
Additionally, the federal government is the largest employer in Maryland, resulting in a disproportionate economic impact on the state following mass federal layoffs at the beginning of the year under the direction of the U.S. Department of Government and Efficiency (DOGE).
These reductions in force (RIFs) have continued under the government shutdown, but Elfreth expressed gratitude over a federal judge’s decision to temporarily halt federal layoffs on Oct. 15.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has also been making strides to provide extra support for furloughed federal workers in Maryland, including house, utility and financial assistance.
Friday, the governor announced the Maryland Transit Administration will provide free MARC and Commuter Bus service to federal workers during the ongoing shutdown.
Any individual with a federal ID badge can ride for free by showing their badge to the transit operator.
“This is what Maryland does in times of crisis: We band together and we help each other out,” Moore said in a statement. “But while Maryland is mobilizing to ease the shutdown’s burden on our people, let’s be clear, no state can fill the gap created by the federal government. The longer this shutdown lasts, the more pain we will feel, so it’s time for Donald Trump to come to the negotiating table on health care and open the government.”
Friday marks the 17th day of the government shutdown.
