The government shutdown, now the longest on record, is growing increasingly painful as more Americans start to feel its effects.
First, more than 600,000 federal workers were furloughed, and an even larger number were forced to work without pay. Then, funding lapses began to endanger critical antipoverty programs that tens of millions of Americans rely on, like food stamps and nutritional programs for women and children.
And on Wednesday, when the government shutdown became the longest in American history, Trump officials said they would slash air traffic at 40 major airports.
Here is a list of some of the shutdown’s most significant impacts.
- Trump suggests furloughed employees may not receive back pay once the government reopens.
- The Trump administration notifies thousands of federal workers that they will be laid off later this year. (A federal judge temporarily blocked the layoffs).
- Most federal workers receive only a partial paycheck this week.
- All unpaid federal workers miss their first full paycheck this week.
- Thousands of furloughed health workers are called back into work to handle open enrollment for both Medicare and health plans available under the Affordable Care Act.
- Active-duty service members are paid through another reallocation of funding.
- A federal judge orders the Agriculture Department to quickly partially or fully fund SNAP.
- A voucher program providing benefits for 6.7 million women and young children received last-minute additional funding for the month of November.
- An additional 134 Head Start programs, which serve more than 65,000 children and families, run out of federal funding.
- Low-income families begin to miss SNAP deposits.
- A federal judge orders the Trump administration to fully fund food stamps, after admonishing the government for ignoring his original order.
- Reductions of 10 percent of air traffic at dozens of the nation’s busiest airports are set to begin.
If the shutdown continues …
- Unpaid federal workers could miss their second paycheck this week.
- Active-duty military could miss a paycheck.
- Unpaid federal workers could miss their third paycheck this week.
