Shaheen, Hassan warn of effects of potential government shutdown

New Hampshire's U.S. senators are warning about the impacts of a potential government shutdown if the House can't reach a budget agreement Friday night.

The Democratic senators said that from New Hampshire's air traffic control workers to border security to farmers and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the shutdown would directly affect Granite Staters in one way or another.

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said she doesn't think a bipartisan agreement will be met, and she's not confident that a shutdown can be avoided.

"We've got about 5,000 federal employees in New Hampshire," Shaheen said. " We'd be asking them to go without pay with no guarantee that they'd get backpay once we open the government up again."

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has said there will be no shutdown. The House is planning to vote on a new bill Friday night without a debt ceiling provision.

"I remain prepared to vote on the bill that was agreed to last Tuesday that Democrats and Republicans had been negotiating for months," said U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan.

The senators said there could be delays in benefits to seniors and veterans if a shutdown were to happen. They said they hope Congress can come together and put the American people first.