How would a government shutdown impact households?
- Federal employees are reportedly being notified about an impending shutdown
- An Oct. 1 shutdown would disrupt and delay a handful of federal services
- Some like student loan payment processing, however, would remain intact
A supermarket displays stickers indicating they accept food stamps in West New York, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
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(NewsNation) — The United States government is warning federal employees that an Oct. 1 shutdown could be fast approaching, impacting travel, nutrition and housing programs and other federal services.
The government Thursday began notifying federal employees of a possible shutdown, according to the Washington Post, which obtained a memo to the Department of Homeland Security. A shutdown could cause disruptions and delays to the millions of Americans who benefit from federal programs.
The White House has warned that a shutdown would leave tens of thousands of federal transportation employees to work without pay.
“In previous shutdowns, this led to significant delays and longer wait times for travelers at airports across the country,” the administration said in a statement earlier this week.
About 1.3 million active-duty troops would also be expected to continue their service without pay, while civilian Department of Defense workers would likely be furloughed, according to the Biden administration.
Those reliant on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) would be at risk too.
“Women and children who count on WIC would soon start being turned away at grocery store counters, with a federal contingency fund drying up after just a few days and many states left with limited WIC funds to operate the program,” a White House statement read.
Households that receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will receive assistance through at least October, NewsNation partner The Hill reported. Beyond then, benefits could be at risk.
More immediately, Head Start programs that serve more than 10,000 disadvantaged children would be at risk of losing funding, the Associated Press reported.
And although Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits will continue, services could be disrupted by furloughs.
As for student loan payments, which are set to resume the day the shutdown would take effect, borrowers would still be expected to pay down their debt, since loan services will still be available to process payments, according to the AP.
