Federal shutdown causes regional concerns
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, October 14th, 2025 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – As the shutdown of the federal government continues, many
organizations are beginning to worry about what that will mean for their usual federal
funding. One of them is Blue Mountain Community College. About a month ago,
BMCC’s administration would have said everything’s going fine. Today, that’s a slightly
different story. President Mark Browning said there’s a storm coming.
“It’s the uncertainty that’s come through the federal world that has caused the
disruptions in the economy,” Browning said. “If there is one aspect of trickle-down
economics, negativity trickles down. Prosperity doesn’t always.”
Meanwhile, the Oregon Employment Department (OED) sent a media advisory Monday
that it will not host a briefing on unemployment which had been scheduled for tomorrow
(Wednesday).
“Although the unemployment rate and nonfarm payroll data for Oregon in September is
not available during the shutdown, OED will share what data is available in a statewide
press release to be issued on Wednesday,” the department stated in its advisory.
Photo of Mark Browning from BMCC
