If this October feels extra spooky, it might be because the government promptly shut down when the new month arrived.
Republicans and Democrats were unable to agree on a path forward for funding the government past September 30, instead allowing funding to lapse. It’s now unclear how long a shutdown will last, or what it may mean for some federal workers in job limbo.
Americans may feel the repercussions of a shutdown on their next park outing or plane trip. For those receiving government benefits, the shutdown might mean some delays or customer service snafus, but checks should still come. Here’s what the shutdown might look like for you.
Social Security checks should still come; food benefits should continue until funding runs out
Social Security checks should still go out as usual, and the agency said in its contingency plan that it would “continue activities critical to our direct-service operations and those needed to ensure accurate and timely payment of benefits.”
However, per the agency’s plan, some services, like verifying benefits or replacing Medicare cards, are set to be discontinued throughout a funding lapse.
Additionally, food assistance programs should remain operational, but they are dependent on the amount of funding they can draw upon. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, has said it has multi-year contingency funds available to help fund those benefits as needed.
Similarly, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, is able to reallocate unused funds from the previous fiscal year. However, the nonprofit National WIC Association has warned that the program only has enough funding to remain open for one or two weeks.
The post office is open, but national parks and airplane flights are touch-and-go
Your mail should not be impacted by any shutdown — USPS has said its post offices will remain “open for business as usual.”
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But if you wanted to send a postcard from a national park, you might run into some wrinkles. National park roads, trails, lookouts, and open-air memorials should remain open to visitors, per the agency’s contingency plans. Parks that collect fees can use those to keep things like bathrooms and trash collections open.
However, park areas generally closed during non-business hours, such as buildings, may also be closed during a shutdown.
Park websites are not set to be updated unless there is an emergency. If visitor access becomes a safety or health issue — like so much trash that it’s an issue for humans and wildlife — the area may be closed.
Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo report that they have sufficient prior-year funding to remain open through at least October 6.
But travelers hopping on a plane may also face delays and longer security lines at airports, as employees there might not show up amid the prospect of working without pay.
Federal workers and data wonks may have a rough week
With shutdowns come furloughs, and for federal workers, that can be a big disruption to their lives and finances. Indefinite shutdowns mean that pay and jobs are delayed until funding is restored.
This time around, there is also new uncertainty, after the Office of Management and Budget directed federal agency heads to consider firing workers in programs that are inconsistent with the President’s priorities during the shutdown.
Furloughs and a temporarily reduced federal workforce also mean data delays, a blow for wonks and the barometers that tip off how the economy is faring. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that in the event of a continuing shutdown, the monthly jobs release — slated for Friday — will not be published as scheduled. Should a shutdown persist, inflation data might not be released on schedule, which could impact the annual cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits.
