US government shutdown looming: Should you be worried? Explained
Republican-controlled House has made little progress — most recently with Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s last-ditch plan collapsing Friday. If spending measures aren't passed by Saturday night, millions of federal employees will be furloughed and many others will be forced to work without pay until the shutdown ends. A handful of federal safety services that people rely on everyday are also in jeopardy.
From dwindling funds for critical food assistance programs to potential delays in customer service for recipients of low-staffed Medicare and Social Security offices. The ripple effects would come down to how long the shutdown lasts and varying contingency plans in place at impacted agencies. “Collectively, hundreds of millions of Americans, a majority of the population, are receiving some kind of benefits from the government," said Forrest V.
Morgeson III, an associate professor at Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business. He noted a shutdown would bring significant financial uncertainty and economic implications down the road. Here's what you need to know.
A government shutdown could risk millions of low-income Americans' access to food and nutrition assistance programs — with impacts depending on how long the shutdown lasts and program-by-program contingency funds. Nearly 7 million women and children who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) could be at risk of losing assistance almost immediately into a shutdown, according to the Biden Administration. That's because the federal contingency fund supporting normal WIC operations will likely run out in a matter of days — pushing states to rely on their own money or carryover funds.
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