Posted on 09/26/23
| News Source: Pikesville Patch
Paycheck interruptions, food assistance shortfalls and delays at airports are among the ways Maryland residents could be affected if Congress doesn’t pass a short-term spending bill to keep the government open past midnight Saturday.
If the government does shut down at the beginning of a new fiscal year on Oct. 1, some agencies will be exempt. But at other agencies, non-essential action would cease and roughly 2 million military personnel and 2 million civilian workers wouldn’t get their paychecks on time. Some federal offices may have to close or operate on a part-time schedule if the government shuts down.
Maryland has about 138,942 civilian employees and 8,459 active duty military personnel.
Here are five things to know:
Nearly 7 million women and children, including 123,101 in Maryland, could see cuts in WIC, or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. The program serves about half of babies born in the nation, according to the White House.
The White House also said about 10,000 children would lose childcare starting in October as a result of disruptions to programs like Head Start.
People who receive food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, or SNAP, would continue to receive benefits through October, CNN reported, but what happens after that is less clear, according to the Agriculture Department, which administers the program.
That could limit the ability of food banks to place new orders and fulfill existing delivery orders. Federal reimbursements to Meals on Wheels programs could also be delayed, and some community-based services could have to suspend meal services, reduce the number of meals they deliver, limit hours or shut down altogether, program officials told CNN.
Meals on Wheels delivers meals to more than 2.8 million older Americans.
Social Security checks will still go out, Medicare services will continue uninterrupted, and Postal Service employees will continue to deliver the mail because those services are paid for with permanent appropriations that don’t have to be renewed every year.
The 83,000 Internal Revenue Service employees would not be furloughed because funding was approved last year by Congress.
Pensions, disability checks and other Veterans Affairs benefits also would continue as normal.
A shutdown could mean longer waits for people who are applying for passports, firearms permits and clinical trials. Businesses that are closely connected to the federal government, including federal contractors or tourist services around national parks, could see disruptions and downturns.
That could mean people won’t be able to visit Smithsonian museums or national parks during the shutdown. The U.S. Travel Industry Association said a shutdown could cost the travel sector $140 million daily.
Air travel could be delayed because Transportation Security Administration employees and air traffic controllers would work without pay, the White House said in a memo.
“These consequences are real and avoidable — but only if House Republicans stop playing political games with peoples’ lives and catering to the ideological demands of their most extreme, far-right members,” the White House memo says. “It’s time for House Republicans to abide by the bipartisan budget agreement that a majority of them voted for, keep the government open, and address other urgent needs for the American people.”
President Joe Biden and members of Congress would continue to work and get paid, but some members of their staff who aren’t deemed as essential workers would be furloughed.
The Judiciary would continue to operate using funds from court filings and other fees, as well as approved funding. Funding for the three special counsels appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland would not be affected because they’re paid through a permanent, indefinite appropriation that has been exempted from previous shutdowns.
It’s impossible to predict how long a government shutdown would last. With Congress divided between a Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-led House, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy's hard-right conservatives looking to use the shutdown as leverage for spending cuts, many are bracing for a stoppage that could last weeks.