The staff at the Maine DDS office has been furloughed due to the federal government shutdown. The Portland Press Herald has the story.
DDS is the state agency that makes Social Security disability determinations at the initial and reconsideration levels of administrative review. Although DDS workers are technically state workers, the federal government reimburses the state of Maine for 100% of their salaries. With the shutdown, that money is not forthcoming.
The Maine DDS was already backlogged due to the volume of work. A couple weeks of furlough, should the shutdown last that long (and it's looking that way), will set them back even further.