WASHINGTON — The government has shut down for the second time in fewer than three months, and while the funding lapse is far less severe than the one last fall, it is already threatening critical government services.
Due to the lack of funding, the Small Business Administration has stopped processing loans, the Bureau of Labor Statistics delayed its release of the January jobs report, and the Department of Transportation has drafted plans to furlough over 10,000 Federal Aviation Administration workers.
Scores of government employees are technically working without pay, though they aren’t likely to experience a delay in getting their paychecks if Congress moves quickly.
By and large, the government has attempted to minimize disruptions and keep key programs such as the IRS’s customer service lines, air traffic control, Veterans’ Affairs, national parks, and memorials open without a hitch.
At the moment, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is estimated to have somewhere between $7 billion and $8 billion to respond to natural disasters such as the cold weather impacting the country.
However, all of that is at risk if the partial shutdown drags on much longer. Soon, more furloughs from federal agencies will likely pile up, and government services will have to be scaled down further.
Unlike the record-breaking 43-day government shutdown last year, the current one is a partial one. That’s because Congress already passed six of the 12 appropriations bills needed to fully fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year.
Government programs subject to the government shutdown are covered by the six appropriations bills that need to clear Congress.
The six bills pertain to homeland security, defense, transportation, financial services, national security, labor, healthcare, and education.
Critically, things like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the US Postal Service, the Veteran Affairs, and the mailing of Social Security checks will not be impacted by the shutdown.
Another key difference is that, unlike the shutdown in the fall, this partial funding lapse appears to have an end in sight.
“I’m confident that we’ll do it at least by Tuesday,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, when asked about when the government shutdown will end.
“No one wanted to put that pain on the American people again. The Democrats forced it. We were insistent that we would not allow that to happen.”
During the last government shutdown, Republicans and Democrats essentially set a Jan. 30 deadline to pass the remaining funding bills.
The House did just that, approving a six-bill package before adjourning for recess. But then, after the shooting of Alex Pretti, 37, Senate Democrats revolted and shot down the deal, demanding that the Department of Homeland Security funding bill be stricken.
The Senate then passed a compromise package with the other five funding bills and put DHS funding on autopilot for two weeks to buy time for negotiations to play out over Democrats’ demands for reforms at the department.
Johnson would prefer to fast-track passage of the compromise deal and pass it under suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority.
Because he may not have the necessary support from Democrats, Johnson will likely have to go through the traditional roll call voting process, which could delay passage until Tuesday. Travel complications from the winter weather are also a factor.
