Government Shutdown Continues

By Gordon Hopkins As the shutdown of the federal government continues, people will continue to see greater impacts in their lives.Funding for programs that do not rely on the regular appropriations process will remain available. Programs outside the appropriations process that receive automatic funding include CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), CCDF (Mandatory portion of the Child Care Development Fund) and Medicaid. USDAOffices of the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) in Nebraska remain closed, including those in Fairbury and Beatrice.The shutdown will result in pauses in the services of the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Forest Service and Rural Development that will impact service delivery for county governments and residents. IRSOn Wednesday, October 8, the IRS (Internal revenue Service) began the process of placing more than 34,400 of its 74,300 employees on furlough. The irs.gov website warned, “The U.S. government is shut down. Services may be limited.”This comes just one week before the extension deadline. If you filed an extension to file your tax returns with the IRS, October 15 is the last day you can file without penalties.Doreen Greenwald, the national president of the National Treasury Employees Union, responded to the news, “Expect increased wait times, backlogs and delays implementing tax law changes as the shutdown continues. Taxpayers around the country will now have a much harder time getting the assistance they need, just as they get ready to file their extension returns due next week.”As for those furloughed IRS employees, a memorandum sent to them read, in part, “When you are on furlough, you will be in non-pay, non-duty status. Paid leave, such as annual, sick, court or military leave, which has been approved for this furlough period is cancelled.” TravelAirports across the country are reporting delays. Air Traffic Control staff are among those government employees working without pay. WICWIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) serves nearly seven million mothers, pregnant women, and children who rely on the program for access to nutritious food, breastfeeding support, infant formula, nutrition education, and healthcare referrals. While WIC has historically remained open for business during government shutdowns, this one falls at the start of the fiscal year. Because WIC is a discretionary program, it will receive no new funding during a shutdown.According to Ali Hard, Public Policy Director of the National WIC Association, “Right now, we are able to serve everyone in WIC. Clinics re open and folks are able to redeem their benefits because of federal funds that are on hand. However, those funds are very limited.” SNAPLike WIC, funding for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) ended September 30. Benefits are still available but the program is running largely on reserve funds. Programs like SNAP are funded through appropriations. According to NACo (National Association of Counties), “Most of these programs will not have access to new funding during a shutdown, but states will be entitled to reimbursement once funding is enacted and made available. Counties responsible for administering these programs will need to work with their state to receive reimbursements.” EPAFunding for Clean Water/Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs and brownfields grants, administered by the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) will be halted. Most inspections of hazardous waste management sites and chemical facilities will be stopped. The Blame GameMeanwhile, representatives from both sides of the aisle continue to publicly blame the other side.On Sunday, October 5, U.S. Representative Mike Flood held an online press conference. He said, “I don’t want to find out what the next round of furloughs are going to be, but the reality is when you don’t have any money coming into the U.S. government, you can’t pay the people to do the jobs, and that is a problem. Listen I’ve been in Congress for three years. I was a state senator for ten. I’ve never seen anything so irresponsible during my time in government than a government shutdown.”Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb responded in a statement, “As one of the most loyal Republicans in Congress, Mike Flood is again parroting talking points from Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson. He is quick to blame Democrats, but they stayed in Washington on the eve of the government shutdown. Congressman Flood took his marching orders and left days ahead of it.“From Offutt Air Force Base personnel to federal workers to farmers, Mike Flood knows that Nebraskans will be forced to work without pay and has done nothing about it. He can cite all the statistics about its impact on our workers, but he can’t even be bothered to stay and help negotiate a bipartisan deal on Capitol Hill. He and Trump have proven that American families are not their priority.”U.S. Representative Don Bacon issued a statement on Wednesday, ““It’s shameful that Sen. (Chuck) Schumer and Leader Jeffries are willing to let not only federal workers go without pay, but our troops, military families, and federal law enforcement. What do they say to the members of our Capitol Police as they pass them at our check-in points on the Capitol Complex? ‘Thanks for working for free?’”

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