DAYTON — The longest government shutdown in U.S. history is over, meaning thousands of people can return to work at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB). Thousands of them have had to stay home for more than a month.
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WPAFB is the largest single employer in the state and the engine that drives the Miami Valley economy.
The people at the Dayton Development Coalition spend a lot of time focusing on jobs and missions at the base and have been following the shutdown closely. President and CEO Jeff Hoagland said he was happy to see the shutdown come to an end on Wednesday night.
“I was very glad, relieved to see the government reopen,” Hoagland said.
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Soon, the thousands of federal workers who were furloughed at WPAFB will start coming back to the base to report for work.
“Glad to see our men and women here, both military and civilian, being able to go back to work and also getting paid. To me, that’s the number one priority,” Hoagland said.
News Center 7’s John Bedell spoke to Governor Mike DeWine at an event in Dayton on Thursday. He asked him what the economic significance of getting these workers back to work and getting them paid was.
“Well, in the Miami Valley, it’s vitally important to our economy,” DeWine said in response. “Having people back at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, what do we have, 38,000 people go in the door every single day in the gates? So that’s huge.”
As shown on News Center 7 at 5:00, Hoagland said getting the base back to a sense of normalcy will have impacts beyond the Miami Valley.
“Something that I think is critical not just for Dayton and Ohio, but for our national defense as well,” Hoagland said.
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