Bill To Fund Fed Govt. Fails In Congress: How MN Could Be Impacted

WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s last-ditch effort to keep the federal government temporarily open collapsed Friday, thrusting many Americans into uncertainty, with possible paycheck interruptions, food assistance shortfalls, and airport delays.

Democrats voted against the bill, along with 21 hard-right Republicans, the Associated Press reported. The package failed by a vote of 198-232.

As Patch previously reported, some agencies would be exempt from a shut-down at the beginning of a new fiscal year Oct. 1. But at other agencies, non-essential action would cease and roughly 2 million military personnel and 2 million civilian workers wouldn’t get their paychecks on time. Some federal offices would have to close or operate on a part-time schedule.

Minnesota has about 16,981 civilian employees and 191 active-duty military personnel.

Gov. Tim Walz blamed Republicans in Congress for the possibility of a shutdown, accusing them of "putting personal politics ahead of hundreds of millions of dollars in food, health care, and military spending."

"If Washington won’t lead, Minnesota will. I have directed my state agencies to take every step available to communicate with Minnesotans and mitigate the impacts of a federal shutdown," Walz added.

According to the governor's office, a lapse of federal funding will have minimal impact on many federally funded state activities in the short term because some federal resources have already been allocated.

However, the longer a federal government shutdown lasts, the greater the impact on the state programs and services Minnesotans rely on.

Walz said his office is taking the following actions to reduce the impact of a potential shutdown on Minnesotans:

Activating Statewide Contingency Response Team

Walz has set up the Statewide Contingency Response Team to work with individual state agencies to identify near-term programmatic impacts on residents.

Communicating Service Disruptions

The governor asked state agencies to reach out to the people, communities, and Tribal Nations that might experience service interruptions and to provide them with regular updates during a shutdown.

Working with Congressional Delegation

Walz's s administration "will continue to work with our representatives in Congress" to support Minnesotans who are negatively affected by a shutdown.

Legal Protections for Minnesota

The governor directed the Minnesota Management and Budget Office to work with Attorney General Keith Ellison to analyze legal remedies against the federal government if there is any failure to reimburse the state of Minnesota.

It will be impossible to avoid all the impacts of a federal government shutdown. Here are some of the biggest impacts Americans could face:

Food Insecurity Could Worsen

Nearly 7 million women and children, including 108,420 in Minnesota, could see cuts in WIC, or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. The program serves about half of babies born in the nation, according to the White House.

The White House also said about 10,000 children would lose childcare starting in October as a result of disruptions to programs like Head Start.

People who receive food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, or SNAP, would continue to receive benefits through October, CNN reported, but what happens after that is less clear, according to the Agriculture Department, which administers the program.

That could limit the ability of food banks to place new orders and fulfill existing delivery orders. Federal reimbursements to Meals on Wheels programs could also be delayed, and some community-based services could have to suspend meal services, reduce the number of meals they deliver, limit hours or shut down altogether, program officials told CNN.

Meals on Wheels delivers meals to more than 2.8 million older Americans.

Some Services Would Continue Uninterrupted

Social Security checks will still go out, Medicare services will continue uninterrupted, and Postal Service employees will continue to deliver the mail because those services are paid for with permanent appropriations that don’t have to be renewed every year.

The 83,000 Internal Revenue Service employees would not be furloughed because funding was approved last year by Congress.

Pensions, disability checks, and other Veterans Affairs benefits also would continue as normal.

Some Services Could Be Delayed

A shutdown could mean longer waits for people who are applying for passports, firearms permits and clinical trials. Businesses that are closely connected to the federal government, including federal contractors or tourist services around national parks, could see disruptions and downturns.

That could mean people won’t be able to visit Smithsonian museums or national parks during the shutdown. The U.S. Travel Industry Association said a shutdown could cost the travel sector $140 million daily.

Air travel could be delayed because Transportation Security Administration employees and air traffic controllers would work without pay, the White House said in a memo.

“These consequences are real and avoidable — but only if House Republicans stop playing political games with peoples’ lives and catering to the ideological demands of their most extreme, far-right members,” the White House memo says. “It’s time for House Republicans to abide by the bipartisan budget agreement that a majority of them voted for, keep the government open, and address other urgent needs for the American people.”

Would Congress Shut Down?

President Joe Biden and members of Congress would continue to work and get paid, but some members of their staff who aren’t deemed as essential workers would be furloughed.

The Judiciary would continue to operate using funds from court filings and other fees, as well as approved funding. Funding for the three special counsels appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland would not be affected because they’re paid through a permanent, indefinite appropriation that has been exempted from previous shutdowns.

How Long Would It Last?

It’s impossible to predict how long a government shutdown would last. With Congress divided between a Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-led House, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy's hard-right conservatives looking to use the shutdown as leverage for spending cuts, many are bracing for a stoppage that could last weeks.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.