AUGUSTA, Maine - At a rare open meeting of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, Maine Sen. Susan Collins expressed concern over the impact of the potential federal government shutdown on the nation’s intelligence operations.
”We are desperately trying to insure that the government keep functioning, and that we do not have any kind of government shutdown," Collins said.
Collins, a Republican, is worried that Congress will fail to provide for at least a continuing resolution for funding the federal government after the current budget runs out at the end of the week.
Collins questioned Robert Cardillo, the director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, who said that just the threat of a shutdown is already causing problems at the agency. He said staff that would normally be gathering intelligence have been shifted instead to planning for a potential shutdown.
A bill that would keep the government operating past midnight Friday has been mired in a dispute over funding to deal with the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan.