Government Shutdown

Government Shutdown

Summary

As you may have seen in the press, there is a chance that our country will experience a federal government shutdown when funds run out at 12:00amET on October 1, 2023.

What is a government shutdown?

According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), "when federal government agencies and programs lack budget authority after the expiration of either full-year or interim appropriations, they experience a 'funding gap.' Under the Antideficiency Act (31 U.S.C. §§1341 et seq.), they must cease operations, except in certain circumstances when continued activities are authorized by law. When there is a funding gap that affects many federal entities, the situation is often referred to as a government shutdown."

How did we get here?

The House GOP is failing to do their job and pass appropriations bills. Extreme MAGA Republicans are making outrageous demands – like a partisan impeachment of President Biden and a ban on medication abortion – and marching toward shutting down the government unless they can jam their right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people.

House Democrats are focused on delivering for hardworking Americans. We are committed to extending government funding and addressing urgent needs across the country, including responding to natural disasters and protecting our national security.

If House Republicans Shut Down The Government:

16,338 active duty and reserve personnel serving our nation's armed forces in Michigan would be forced to go without the pay they earn during a shutdown.
The Small Business Administration would stop processing small business loans, halting a program that provides $809,613,700 in funding to small businesses in Michigan every year.
33,384 people flying through Michigan airports every day would face potential delays and safety concerns due to staffing impacts on TSA agents and air traffic controllers.
207,728 people in Michigan would soon lose access to Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits.
33,885 federal workers in Michigan would be furloughed or forced to work without pay, in addition to the many employees of businesses with government contracts who could be laid off, furloughed, or see their hours cut.
Workers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would be sidelined, risking interruptions and delays to the 192 food safety, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and other inspections conducted in Michigan last year.
The Department of Agriculture would be forced to stop processing housing loans, which provide $389,732,175 in funding to help 2,755 families in rural Michigan communities buy homes every year.
The Department of Agriculture would be forced to stop processing farm loans which provide $112,576,000 in funding for farmers in Michigan every year.
1,437,588 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries in Michigan would lose access to benefits in a prolonged shutdown.
2,709,509 people who visit national parks in Michigan every year would be turned away or unable to fully access parks, monuments, and museums.
State governments would be forced to pay for federal services like the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, potentially risking benefits for the 22,863 TANF beneficiaries in Michigan.

We've delivered a historic economic recovery that is growing the middle class and rebuilding American manufacturing, with 354,400 jobs created in Michigan since President Biden took office. An extreme MAGA shutdown that undermines our economic progress and hurts working families is the last thing we need right now.

Frequently Asked Questions

Federal Benefits
- Will I continue to receive my Social Security and SSI checks?
  - Yes. During a government shutdown, recipients will continue to receive their Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) checks. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will continue to issue original and replacement Social Security cards and process applications for benefits and appeals. Field offices will be open, and the national 1-800 number will be running.
  - The SSA has stated that some Social Security services may be affected, such as benefit verifications, which recipients often need when applying for assistance programs.
- Will I still be able to use my Medicare or Medicaid?
  - Yes. Medicare and Medicaid are deemed mandatory programs and benefits will not be disrupted by the shutdown. The shutdown will not affect Medicare’s open enrollment period beginning October 15 or the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period beginning November 1.
- How will veterans be impacted?
  - Veterans’ health care will not be affected by the shutdown. Benefits will continue to be processed and delivered, including compensation, pension, education, and housing benefits.
  - Access to some Veterans’ Affairs (VA) resources will be restricted, including outreach, career counseling, transition assistance, and cemetery grounds maintenance. Regional VA offices that serve the public will close.
- Will I still receive my WIC or SNAP benefits for groceries?
  - Unfortunately, the vast majority of the seven million participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program will see an immediate reduction in benefits during the shutdown.
  - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients will continue to receive
    assistance as normal for the month of October but could be affected if the shutdown goes
    into November and later.
- Will I still have access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), including
  cash assistance?
  - Because TANF is funded by the government but distributed by state agencies, this will depend on your state policy. During a government shutdown, it is likely that the federal government will need to halt its quarterly TANF payments to states, but state governments will have the option to continue providing benefits and services without interruption.
Public Spaces and Utilities
- Will my mail still arrive?
  - Yes. The approximately 500,000 Postal Service employees are exempt from “furlough” — meaning they will continue to go to work — because the Postal Service is self-funded.
- Will public schools be affected?
  - Some preschool and school readiness centers will close, leading to some children losing their Head Start benefits. Public elementary, middle, and high schools will be able to rely on state funding and continue to operate.
- Will the shutdown impact public health?
  - The federal government will suspend most safety inspections for drinking water, food, worksites, and hazardous sites. The agency responsible for food inspections, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will continue inspections of food being imported from outside the country. However, it will need to halt inspections of domestic food, where the FDA often tests for salmonella in breakfast cereal, E.coli in romaine lettuce, and listeria in ice cream.
- Will I be able to visit national parks, monuments, and museums?
  - National parks and open-air monuments are expected to remain open during the shutdown. However, other services that require National Park Service staff, including campgrounds and concessions, will be closed. Due to the lack of park staff, it is common to see locked
    bathrooms, litter, and overflowing trashcans on national park lands.
  - Museums operated by the federal government will close during the shutdown, including the Smithsonians and the National Zoo.
Financial Support and Federal Relief
- Will assistance related to my federal student loans be affected?
  - Key activities at Federal Student Aid will continue for a few weeks, but a prolonged shutdown could disrupt the agency’s ability to assist borrowers as they restart payments this fall. At this time, borrowers are still expected to resume payments in October. A shutdown could also delay the process for students applying to the FAFSA and seeking financial aid. State and school-based financial aid may still be available, so reach out to your school for guidance.
- Will the IRS be available for tax filings and tax refunds?
  - If you are filing your 2022 taxes with a valid extension, you are still required to file by the October 16 deadline. Refunds will not be processed except in cases where e-filed, error free refunds can be direct deposited automatically.
  - Unfortunately, you will not be able to call the IRS to seek assistance with your taxes during the shutdown. Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) across the country will also be closed. If the shutdown continues into 2024, the IRS will reopen call centers when the filing season begins on January 1.
- Will federal disaster relief be available to communities affected by hurricanes,
  wildfires, and other natural disasters?
  - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is currently saving money to be able to continue operating and is only focusing on immediate needs. However, the agency has warned that its Disaster Relief Fund is dangerously low and could be depleted if the government shuts down without approving emergency funding first. During the shutdown, it is likely that FEMA will only be responding to the most severe disasters and hardest-hit communities.
- Will my small business be able to access federal loans?
  - The Small Business Administration (SBA) will not provide new loans to any businesses. If you have an SBA loan, your repayments are still due, and it is a good idea to contact your lending institution and ask how the government shutdown affects your loan (SBA loans are provided through private lenders).
  - SBA is likely to continue to issue disaster loans, since they did so during the 2018-2019
    shutdown. However, you should expect the process of getting approved for a new EIDLs
    (Economic Injury Disaster Loans) to take a bit longer.
  - Will my farm be able to access federal loans?
    - USDA Farm Service Agency offices will be closed during the shutdown, meaning that farmers
      will have to wait on subsidy payments, loans, and commodity data they need now to make
      plans for the spring and future growing seasons.
      The USDA has not yet said whether farmers will be expected to make loan payments during
      the shutdown, but the agency policy during the 2019 was that farmers did not have to make
      loan payments until the shutdown was over.
  - Will I have access to federal rental and housing assistance during a shutdown, such as
    Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV)?
    - Households will continue to receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
      (HUD) assistance through the end of the year, but a longer shutdown may impact access to
      rental assistance. If the shutdown ends before the end of December, funding for HUD rental
      assistance should continue as normal; Housing Choice Vouchers, public housing, and Project-Based Rental Assistance are all funded on a calendar year cycle.
    - However, a prolonged shutdown period could lead to delays in renewing contracts and the broader financial uncertainty of a shutdown may lead public housing agencies to stop reissuing housing vouchers.
- Interstate and International Travel
  - Will my travel plans be impacted?
    There could be significant delays and longer wait times for travelers at airports across the country. During the 2019 shutdown, several flights were canceled or delayed when Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents and air traffic controllers called off work due to the loss in pay. There is also currently a shortage of air traffic controllers employed in U.S. airports that could make travel disruptions even more likely.
  - Before you travel, plan ahead. Check with your airline about cancellations and delays, give yourself a cushion if you’re booking connecting flights, and leave extra time to get through airport screenings.
- Questions about Government Employees and Wages
  - How many federal workers will be affected by the shutdown?
    - More than four million federal workers are expected to miss some pay during the shutdown. As the nation’s largest employer, furloughing four million workers — putting them temporarily out of work — would be the equivalent to laying off the combined global workforces of both Walmart and Amazon.
  - Who does and doesn’t get paid during a government shutdown?
    - The majority of federal workers will not report to work during the shutdown and will not be paid until the shutdown ends. These furloughed workers will receive back pay when they return to work.
    - Other federal workers who are deemed essential to public safety will report to work during a shutdown, but these workers will not be paid or receive back pay until the government starts up again. These workers include:
      - In-hospital medical care
      - Border protection
      - Air traffic controllers
      - Law enforcement
      - Military personnel
      - Power grid workers
    - There are a few exceptions to which federal workers will report to work and will receive pay during the shutdown. This is because the agencies they work for are either self-funded, or they have received enough funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, or they are mandated by law to continue to receive pay, and therefore will continue to operate as normal. These agencies and positions include:
      - The United States Postal Service (USPS)
      - The Federal Reserve
      - The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
      - Members of Congress
      - The President
    - However, there are many federal contractors who will be furloughed and will not receive back pay once the shutdown ends.
  - I’m a federal worker, contractor, or I’m employed at a federal building that will not be open. Can I file for unemployment with the city?
    - If the government shuts down, federal workers and contractors who are furloughed or terminated contractors may apply for unemployment in the state where they work.
- Questions about the Politics of Government Shutdowns
  - Why did the government shut down?
    - The government shuts down when Congress fails to pass legislation known as “appropriations” bills. The U.S. government runs on 12 appropriations bills that fund the different federal government agencies, like the Department of Labor, Department of Agriculture, Department of Health and Human Services (sometimes combined into a single or a few larger bills called an “omnibus”), passed each year by Congress and signed by the President.
    - If any of those bills aren’t law by the start of the government’s new fiscal year, Congress and the president can keep the machinery of government running by passing short-term extensions of the current funding, known formally as continuing resolutions (CR).
    - However, if a CR isn’t agreed to, the federal government runs into “a funding gap” and federal agencies that don’t have an operating budget need to take steps to shut down. This year, because the House Republicans as the governing majority failed to ensure any of the 12 appropriations bills became law and refused to agree to a CR, we expect there to be a full government shutdown.
  - What happens to federal government workers during a shutdown?
    - The federal government hires two kinds of workers: direct employees and government contractors.
    - Workers who are directly employed by an agency that has been shut down are either furloughed — prohibited from reporting to work and are not paid — or must work without pay if they are considered essential to fulfilling ongoing government functions, like those required to maintain public safety.
    - However, government contractors who are forced to stop working typically do not receive back pay following government shutdowns. During the 2018-2019 shutdown, an estimated 4.1 million people worked under government contracts, though the precise number furloughed is unknown. For these mostly low- or lower-wage workers, they will end up missing every paycheck that would have been issued during the period of the shutdown to potentially devastating effect. This is why progressives believe that Congress should ensure these workers also receive back pay once the government reopens.
    - Services that the government deems “essential,” such as those related to law enforcement and public safety, will continue. These essential employees work without pay until the shutdown ends.
    - Deciding what parts of government are “essential” though, is a matter of interpretation and is facilitated by government departments and the political appointees who run them. They eventually have a say over who comes to work and who stays home.
  - What’s the effect of a government shutdown on the economy as a whole?
    - According to the Congressional Budget Office, the 2018-2019 shutdown cost the U.S. economy $11 billion — largely the result of federal workers cutting spending to cope with the loss of their paychecks.
  - How long does a government shutdown last?
    - The length of shutdowns vary, as they last until Congress passes and the President signs the appropriations bills to fund the government. The most recent shutdown occurred in 2018-2019 and lasted 35 days.
  - What has to happen to end a government shutdown once it starts?
    - Congress must pass and the President must sign appropriations bills to fund the departments and reopen agencies that have shut down.
  - Can the President end a government shutdown by himself?
    - No, both Congress and the President must act to end a shutdown. Appropriations bills to fund the government advance in the same manner as any other bill: they must pass in both the House and Senate and the President must sign them into law.
  - What does this shutdown have to do with the summer debt ceiling deal?
    - During the summer, President Biden agreed to a deal with Speaker McCarthy and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. That deal codified cuts to federal spending that would be written into the appropriations bills in exchange for House Republicans raising the debt limit, as well as forgoing deeper cuts.
    - If Speaker McCarthy had kept his word and held House Republicans to that deal they negotiated, there would be no government shutdown. However, far-right members of the House Republicans demanded he abandon the deal and write the funding bills with deeper cuts to most government spending, including vital services our families rely on.