Stepping into the void

Officials work to keep attractions like the Statue of Liberty open during the shutdown

From his office’s second-story window in Lower Manhattan, Stephen Briganti could see dozens of tourists “milling about” over the weekend, trying to understand why they could not travel to the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island.

“This happens every time there’s a (government) shutdown,” said Briganti, president of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. “People coming from abroad, and even those coming from other parts of the country, don’t realize the statue closes when the government shuts down.”

Now they won’t have to worry. On Sunday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., announced that Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty would stay open on the state’s dime under an agreement struck with the Interior Department. Arizona has similarly said it will ensure the Grand Canyon remains open, whether the federal government reopens or not.

The government shutdown, entering its third day despite frantic negotiations late Sunday on Capitol Hill, has sent home federal workers needed to maintain beloved U.S. icons — cleaners at the Statue of Liberty, rangers patrolling Mount Rushmore, plow drivers who clear snowy roads leading to the Grand Canyon. Some states are trying to step into the void left by the federal government, eager to contrast their competence with Washington’s dysfunction.

“No matter what drama occurs back in Congress, we have a responsibility to make sure the shutdown doesn’t have an impact on Arizona’s economy or our children’s health care,” Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, said, noting that the state will fund its Children’s Health Insurance Program until Congress can break the logjam over it.

Governors have taken actions during previous shutdowns, with Cuomo also keeping the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island open in 2013.

An extended government shutdown would cost the U.S. economy $6.5 billion every week it lasts, according to an estimate from Standard & Poor’s in December. Analysts say that state interventions are likely to only help blunt the pain felt in specific areas, such as tourist towns around the Grand Canyon, and that they won’t do much to reduce the overall impact.

But that’s not going to stop some states from trying to step in.

In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat inaugurated less than a week ago, held a conference call with members of the state’s congressional delegation, including some House Republicans, to begin discussions about possible reactions to a protracted shutdown.

Other states are beginning to think of contingency plans. If the shutdown goes on, Gov. Jerry Brown, D-Calif., whose state is home to approximately 252,000 federal employees, will ask state agency heads to explain potential places California can step in.

“We’ll turn on a dime to learn how this affects us if it looks like it’s going on for a while,” said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman in the state’s Department of Finance. “They’re ready, and we’re ready, to be able to act at a moment’s notice.”

Even the deal reached between Cuomo and the Interior Department leaves the fate of many important landmarks in his state unsettled. Although Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty will remain open, dozens of other federally managed sites could close in the coming days.