Even in the unlikely event that Congress fails to enact legislation to finance the federal government by October 1, the start of the new fiscal year, millions of Americans would still be eligible to receive their Social Security, Medicare, and veterans payments. Along with other crucial services, people will still be able to receive letters and prescription medications through the mail in the United States.
Social Security and Medicare are regarded as mandatory programs and are not subject to annual budgets, but the majority of federal agencies depend on congressional appropriations to fund their operations. However, certain services may cease to exist even though essential ones will. Legislation to fund the government must be passed by Congress and signed by the president in order to maintain the majority of federal functions. If not, a deal on a “continuing resolution,” which would fund the agencies indefinitely until a long-term budget agreement is reached, would have to be negotiated. None of the financing measures have been approved by Congress thus far in 2023.
In the event that an agreement to continue funding the government until September 30 is not reached, a large number of federal employees risk being placed on paid furlough, leaving them without a job. Many active military personnel and other federal employees deemed vital will continue to work without being paid. Federal employees are legally entitled to get their back pay after the closure is over.
These are some examples of how a shutdown can impact these essential services:
The Social Security
Benefits from Social Security would be paid as usual. They are not impacted by the yearly appropriations process and have a steady source of funding.
Applications for retirement benefits, survivor benefits, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will be accepted and processed as usual, according to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) contingency plan. Should a hearing be arranged for you, it will take place. Additionally, replacement and new Social Security cards will still be issued by the SSA. Phone lines and field offices would stay open.
Certain customer services, such as obtaining benefit verifications, that are deemed unnecessary might be discontinued.
Insurance
Similar to Social Security, Medicare’s operations would mostly carry on as usual. Enrollees are still able to fill their prescription drugs and visit the doctor and hospital. The length of a shutdown may affect how quickly medical providers receive reimbursed.
You can still apply for Medicare at ssa.gov if you would like to enroll during the closure. The 800-633-4227 Medicare hotline will stay open.
Medicare open enrollment is scheduled to start on October 15, although it is unlikely that beneficiaries will be unable to examine and modify their plans even in the event of a protracted closure. Since the states administer the State Health Insurance Programs which assist with enrollment advice, a federal shutdown would not affect them.
Get a replacement Medicare card is one service that would not be available during a shutdown. The Social Security Administration, which creates those cards, declares that it will not print replacement Medicare cards while the government is closed.
Letter delivery
Post office branches will stay open and letters and shipments will be delivered as usual. Since the U.S. Postal Service is an autonomous organization and receives revenue from sources other than the government budget, a shutdown would not have an impact on it.
Veterans During a shutdown, the majority of government services, including those provided by the Veterans Health Administration, would still be available to veterans and their families. The VA would continue to operate with full staffing. The Tricare health insurance plan would function normally.
Pension benefits would still be paid to veterans, and claims would still be handled. There would be more burials at national cemeteries.
Moving Around
Travel via air: Regular commercial flights would continue. Due to their status as vital workers, air traffic controllers and airport security screeners will continue to work. On the other hand, you might want to arrive at the airport a little earlier than normal if you’re flying. Security lineups at various airports during the 2018–2019 partial government shutdown were longer than usual because a large number of TSA screeners, who were compelled to work without pay like other vital federal workers, phoned in sick.
Train travel: Amtrak trains will continue to operate normally. Despite being controlled by the federal government, Amtrak is registered as a private company and is not susceptible to government closures. There was no disruption to Amtrak service during the 2018–2019 closure.
Passports: Visas and passports will still be issued and renewed by the State Department. The majority of post offices will be open during a government shutdown for routine passport applications. However, it’s a good idea to check before visiting a passport office because some of them, which are housed in federal buildings, can be closed.
Food Security
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will continue to check the meat, poultry, eggs, and several kinds of catfish that are processed at approximately 7,000 commercial facilities across the country. The impact on other food-processing establishments, like cheese factories, ice cream factories, and cereal manufacturers, is still unknown. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) originally halted normal inspections during the 2018–2019 shutdown. Later on, some were fixed.
Drug Security
Because user fees fund these operations, the FDA will continue to approve medications, inspect drug manufacturing sites, and regulate cigarette products. In addition, they will keep up with issues like product recalls, medication shortages, and outbreaks of infectious or food-borne illnesses that pose an immediate threat to people’s health or lives.
nourishment
The federal food assistance programs for lower-income families are managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has stated that these benefits “will continue to the extent that funds… are available to support those programs.” The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs is one example of this Benefits are normally disbursed during the first month of a shutdown, but recipients may experience delays if the government is still unfunded after 30 days.
National monuments and parks
Officials from the National Park Service have not updated their backup plans in case of a government shutdown. The majority of the parks were open throughout the 2018–2019 closure, albeit with very little personnel and services. Many of the parks and landmarks were open to visitors during that closure, but park staff were placed on furlough, so visitors had to deal with growing amounts of trash and dirty facilities.
The Institution of Smithsonian
Similar to national parks, the Smithsonian Institution, which is home to 21 museums and the National Zoo, does not yet have updated shutdown plans accessible. The institution stated that it would use “prior-year funds” to temporarily stay operational if necessary, in the event that a shutdown was threatened in 2021. It was able to keep its facilities operating for 11 out of the 35 days of the 2018–2019 shutdown.
Visitors have been drawn to the “Panda Palooza” at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., which is being referred to as a massive farewell to the well-known pandas that will be returning to China in December. There’s a chance that a closure would limit visitors’ ability to bid the panda’s farewell.
The federal government employs more than 2 million people, making it the largest employer in the country. Politico stated that about 25% of those workers are 55 years of age or older. Thus, the government shutdown would have an impact on a large number of senior workers as well as the individuals who depend on the services they offer.
Many, but not all, of those millions of people would be furloughed during a shutdown, which means they would continue to work but would not be paid. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that some 800,000 federal civilian employees were placed on furlough during the partial government shutdown that occurred in 2018–2019.
The term “essential workers” refers to federal employees who stay on the job during a government shutdown because they are crucial to programs with multiyear funding (Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits), air traffic control, border control, and food safety, as well as national security (the military and embassies). Nonetheless, there might be delays in customer service and support because there would be fewer federal personnel working overall during a shutdown.
Every federal agency determines for itself how many of its entire workforce, as well as which specific roles, will be placed on furlough. Non-furloughed essential personnel are still required to report to work every day and perform their duties. However, similar to furloughed workers, these staff members often do not get compensation until their agency’s funding is approved by the president and Congress.
Both furloughed employees and essential workers usually receive back pay for any pay periods missed during the closure once money is approved. Employees under federal contract who are idled typically do not get paid again.
Furloughed employees may apply for unemployment benefits from their state agency during the closure and receive these payments if they meet the requirements. However, after the furloughed individual returns to work and receives back pay, the unemployment benefits would normally have to be paid back.
