If the federal government shuts down this weekend, work at many federally funded agencies will slow or stop altogether, and millions of federal workers will stop receiving paychecks.
But Social Security benefits are still coming out.
Social Security is considered a mandatory program, and is not funded by the short-term continuation of the decision that has kept the government running in recent years amid Washington's political gridlock.
Another 72.8 million people receive monthly Social Security benefits. Those benefits go mainly to retirees, but also to people with disabilities, and those who depended on deceased beneficiaries.
But while benefit checks are still coming out, people who need to contact the Social Security Administration for help may face long wait times as SSA workers begin to be laid off. Validation of benefits, processing of overpayments and issuance of new cards will also be affected.
Already, SSA staffing is at a 50-year low, as House Republicans rejected funding increases for the agency in a continuing resolution issued in September.
Some government benefits programs will not be affected immediately — but could be affected if the shutdown continues.
People who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, will continue to receive their benefits for 30 days. After that, the program will begin to rely on savings, when the employment of the US Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, may begin to affect the distribution of benefits.
Perhaps the biggest threat would be to people who receive assistance under the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC. People who receive help under this program are pregnant women, new mothers, their children and small children with low income.
The program often has a limited amount of emergency funding available, after which WIC administrators begin evaluating support for people with the greatest needs.
In the past, dozens of other government services have been affected by shutdowns. During the 2013 shutdown, the Food and Drug Administration delayed nearly 900 inspections, while the Environmental Protection Agency suspended inspections of 1,200 facilities, according to the Committee on a Responsible Federal Budget. National park operations were also severely affected: While most parks remained open, no visitor services were provided, and damage and garbage accumulations were reported in many areas, the group said.
Perhaps the biggest potential impact at this time would be on air travel as the busy holiday airline season ramps up. During the 2018-2019 shutdown, many travelers experienced extended wait times as Security Administration agents failed to report to work, and stops were issued at major airports such as LaGuardia in New York without adequate air traffic controllers.
In a statement, a TSA spokesperson said its employees will be on duty without pay while handling record volumes for Christmas and New Year, and that the extended closure “could mean longer wait times at airports.”
At some point, a prolonged shutdown will begin to hurt the economy. The longest shutdown lasted 35 days, starting on Dec. 22. 2018, to Jan. 25, 2019, and the Congressional Budget Office estimated that it cost the US economy at least $11 billion in direct, indirect costs that are difficult to quantify.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Source link
