Government shutdown impacts: air travel to taxes, national security to national parks

How would a government shutdown affect the lives of everyday Americans? Some benefits, like Social Security and those for veterans, go on unimpeded. But other services, such as assistance at the IRS or access to national parks, will come to a halt.

Federal employees who are deemed essential will need to work without being paid, while the rest are furloughed.

Here’s a look at different facets of federal government and what will happen if the government shuts down at midnight Sunday.

Air traffic controllers and TSA 

Federal air traffic controllers would work without pay, as would transportation security agents. 

Campaign finance

The Federal Election Commission would collect data but would not update its website during a shutdown. According to the agency’s contingency plan, “virtually all core agency functions” will stop, including enforcement of the Federal Election Campaign Act, releasing of data to the public and more.

COVID response

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, under Health and Human Services, “will maintain the minimal readiness for all hazards, including COVID-19, pandemic flu, and hurricane responses.”

Disaster recovery 

Long-term recovery projects could be delayed, the White House said. 

Farm loans

Farmers will be unable to obtain marketing loans from Department of Agriculture local offices as they seek to market their harvest, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters on Sept. 25.

Head Start

During a shutdown, Head Start programs lose funding, with grants unable to be awarded.

Homeland Security

Nearly three-quarters of the Department of Homeland Security’s staff would work without pay, including those securing the nation’s borders, “processing, detaining and removing” people who enter the U.S. illegally, seizing illegal drugs and more.

IRS

Two-thirds of staff will be furloughed, meaning audits, examination of returns, non-automated collections, taxpayer customer service outside of filing season, and more will not occur. The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) will not help taxpayers until the shutdown ends.

Law enforcement

Many federal law enforcement personnel would work without pay.

Mail

US Postal Service is unaffected.

Medical research

National Institutes of Health would not be able to begin new clinical trials.

Medicare and Medicaid 

Benefits still available, but new applicants may encounter interruptions in service. Medicaid will continue so long as a shutdown doesn’t extend past the first quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.

Military 

Active-duty service members, as well as civilian employees deemed essential to national security, would work without pay. Other civilian defense employees would be furloughed. 

National parks

Units of the National Park Service “will be closed completely to public access,” the Department of the Interior said Friday, with staff furloughed. The public may be able to access sites on Sunday, and those sites would close Monday. Arizona and Utah may pay the federal government to keep their states’ national parks open, including Grand Canyon, Zion, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef and Canyonlands.

Small-business loans

The Small Business Administration would stop processing new loans and applications would not move forward during a shutdown.

Smithsonian museums, National Zoo

The cultural institutions that dot the Mall in Washington, as well as the National Zoo, will close in the event of a shutdown.

SNAP and WIC benefits 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday that millions of Americans who depend on WIC — also known as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children — for support could see a “denial of those benefits and opportunities” in the event of a shutdown.

Social Security 

Benefits still distributed but applications may be disrupted. 

Student loans 

Servicing of student loans, processing of FAFSAs and distribution of Pell Grants and Federal Direct Student loans should continue but may experience disruptions.

VA benefits 

No impact on VA health care, veteran burials at national cemeteries. But career counseling, transition assistance and maintenance at cemeteries would not be available. 

Workplace inspections

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration could curtail inspections of work sites under a shutdown.