SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - The federal government appears to be heading towards a shutdown with a key funding deadline expiring at midnight.

We caught up with Senator Ed Markey Tuesday to hear his thoughts on this possible shutdown. He said that besides this negatively affecting the labor market, a potential shutdown puts the healthcare of hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents at risk: “325,000 Massachusetts residents are going to lose their health insurance. 337,000 Massachusetts residents are going to see their premiums or healthcare dramatically skyrocket. So, we are looking at 660,000 people in Massachusetts either losing their healthcare or seeing it be dramatically increased in cost.”

Senator Markey added that he will not vote for any proposal that doesn’t protect

See Full Page