The clock is ticking for Congress to take action to avoid an all-out government shut down.
Federal lawmakers have until midnight Thursday (September 30)–– the last day of the fiscal year –– to reach an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, if not, on Friday (October 1) at 12:01 a.m., the government will shutdown. The impact of a shutdown could reach hundreds of thousands of federal workers and millions of other Americans.
Congress is scrambling to get votes after Senate Republicans blocked a bill on Monday (September 27) that would have allowed government funding to continue and raise the debt ceiling.
This isn’t the first time lawmakers have come down to the wire to get the debt ceiling raised to avoid a shutdown. The government was partially shutdown for over a month between December 2018 to January 2019 under former President Donald Trump.
The impact of a shutdown, now, would reach most Americans. From national park closures, loan and mortgage applications being delayed because the IRS would stop verifying income, there are many ways you could feel the impact of a shut down.
Services deemed essential for national security like air traffic control and Border Patrol would continue, but salaries for hundreds of thousands of federal workers could be impacted and may have to be furloughed.
Other services like power grid maintenance, law enforcement, and in-hospital care are considered essential and have been maintained in other shutdowns.
Other government payments that may be disrupted include:
- Payments to medicaid recipients
- Social security checks
- Military paychecks
- Monthly child tax credit payments
- Food stamp benefit payments
The definition of essential work varies from agency to agency. Given that we’re in a global pandemic, there are questions about what a government shutdown will do to vaccine research at the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and if these agencies will continue running.
The US Postal Service doesn’t rely on government funds, so service should not be disrupted by a shutdown.
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