Government shutdown could happen Sunday. What to know in Delaware, how it will impact you

Editor's note: this is a continuing story that will be updated.

With the countdown to a government shutdown underway, you may be wondering what exactly is going on with Congress and what this could mean to you and your daily routine.

Here’s what you need to know, both on a national and state level.

What is a government shutdown?

A government shutdown is when all federal agencies and services officials not deemed essential have to cease working.

Why would a government shutdown happen?

Lawmakers in the House and Senate have yet to reach a compromise on several bills that would fund the government.

As of Thursday morning, lawmakers had yet to agree on any of the 12 bills they would need to pass. House Democrats and moderate Republicans began working on a fallback plan last week, but it is unknown whether the “rare bipartisan push” would receive enough support to bypass a government shutdown, according to USA Today.

When would the government shutdown begin?

The government shutdown would start on Sunday, Oct. 1, if lawmakers can’t pass a federal budget or a stopgap measure by Saturday, Sept. 30, according to USA Today.

The stopgap, known as a continuing resolution, would prevent an Oct. 1, shutdown by temporarily extending government funding.

How long would the government shutdown last?

The length of a potential shutdown depends on how soon the House and Senate are able to pass a new appropriations package that President Joe Biden would then have to sign.

The country has endured 21 shutdowns in the last five decades, all with varying lengths of time.

The most recent government shutdown lasted 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019. It was the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and stemmed from former President Donald Trump’s demands for funding a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, which was opposed by Democratic lawmakers.

During the last shutdown, nearly a million Americans were furloughed or went without pay, Biden wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Along with those impacts, processing times at the Internal Revenue Service slowed down, some federal support for Indigenous tribes halted, and military families had less access to critical family support programs, according to USA Today.

How does a government shutdown affect me?

Nonessential work being halted would lead to federal workers being furloughed, a potential delay in government food assistance benefits, a possible pause on some food safety inspections, and other government benefits used by Americans being impacted.

Essential services in the United States, like the U.S. Postal Service, Medicare and Social Security, would continue operating during a government shutdown.

What Delaware agencies are affected by a government shutdown?

A government shutdown could affect all agencies.

The longer a federal shutdown lasts, the worse off state agencies and government programs could be, as funding reserves may become sparse as time stretches on.

Will Delaware post offices be impacted by a government shutdown?

The U.S. Postal Service will continue to operate, as it is funded through a “permanent no-year appropriation,” according to the agency’s 2024 fiscal year shutdown plan.

Would a government shutdown impact travel?

While air travel and cruises would continue, funding to agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection would be on hold.

The agents travelers interact with at airports and seaports, and the controllers who oversee flights, are considered essential workers who will continue working, but will have to do so without pay.

Longer wait times and flight delays may arise.

Will Social Security be impacted by a government shutdown?

Social Security checks will continue to be sent to recipients in the event of a government shutdown, but some services that are not directly related to Social Security payment benefits and direct-service operations, such as verification of benefits or corrections and updates to earnings records, would be temporarily suspended, according to USA Today.

Employees in the Social Security Administration are likely to be furloughed during the shutdown, though, so government food assistance benefits could be delayed.

According to the administration’s 2024 fiscal year contingency plan, about 8,500 of their nearly 62,000 employees would be furloughed.

Will Medicare be impacted by a government shutdown?

Medicare, like Social Security and other major programs and benefits, is generally unaffected by government shutdowns due to Congress approving these the programs to spend without an expiration date, known as mandatory spending, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

Although benefits will continue, there could be a delay in some payments.

How will a government shutdown impact state employees in Delaware?

A shutdown could impact state employees whose employers depend on federal funds to operate and must shut down certain activities deemed non-necessary by the government, according to USA Today.

If this happens, some state employees could be furloughed until a shutdown passes. State employees who receive salaries from private employers who don’t rely on federal funds wouldn’t necessarily be impacted.

Delaware has 3,039 state employees across various agencies and 10,823 annuitants, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Federal retirees will still receive payments if a federal shutdown occurs.

How will Delaware schools be impacted by a government shutdown?

K-12 and higher education policy is mainly handled at the state and local level, but families could be significantly impacted when it comes to federally supported child-care services.

Programs like Head Start, which serves low-income families nationwide, would be in danger as the Department of Health and Human Services would be unable to award federal grants to child-care centers.

The length of a shutdown largely impacts how much damage school district and colleges will feel, but the Education Department reports that these institutions would begin to feel the hurt at the one-week mark.

Alison May, the public information officer for the Delaware Department of Education, says Delaware will see little impact from a government shutdown due to all of the department’s federal grants (except for the Child Nutrition programs) already having been funded for the year.

There could be delays in reimbursement for child nutrition, but it would not result in student-felt impacts, said May.

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How will a government shutdown impact agriculture in Delaware?

Across the country, marketing loans for farmers could enter a “state of limbo” as Farm Service Agency offices in most U.S. counties close. USDA-backed housing loans for rural families would stop as well.

Stacey Hofmann, chief of community relations for the Delaware Department of Agriculture, says the potential shutdown will have “little impact, if any,” on the agency.

“The programs we already have in place that are helping Delawareans will continue because the federal funding is already here,” said Hoffman.

She also noted that meat inspectors will continue to be in processing plants because they are considered critical to the safety of the food supply.

How will a government shutdown impact food programs in Delaware?

Food programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would continue throughout the month of October, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture official, but a shutdown beyond then could put SNAP funding at risk.

Another at-risk program is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Those receiving benefits would quickly deplete them, with the only reprieve being possibly assistance from states with extra funding to push off the impacts of the shutdown for a week or two.

Will the government shutdown impact road projects in Delaware?

Charles McLeod, director of community relations for the Delaware Department of Transportation, says there would “not be any immediate impacts,” such as a pause on projects or staffing issues, from a federal shutdown.

The Highway Trust Fund and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law appropriations are exempt from the shutdown, said McLeod.

How previous government shutdowns impacted Delaware

Scott Goss, a spokesperson for the Delaware General Assembly, says the impacts of a government shutdown primarily depend on how long the shutdown lasts, and each shutdown

During the last federal shutdown from December 2018 to January 2019, Goss notes that there were nearly 3,000 civilian federal workers based in Delaware, many at Dover Air Force Base, who were deemed non-essential and furloughed.

The General Assembly was in session during that time and was able to pass legislation that temporarily suspended judicial and administrative proceedings and transactions related to rent, mortgages, taxes, fines, insurance premiums and more for those workers because they were not getting paid, said Goss.

Another bill to authorize the Delaware Office of Management and Budget to partner with financial institutions to create a temporary loan program capable of providing those workers with up to $80,000 under certain conditions was proposed, but ultimately failed when every Senate Republican voted no.

The previous government shutdown still saw Medicaid and Medicare health benefits being doled out, Social Security checks were sent and federal courts remained in session

While we have yet to reach a level of stalemate during a government shutdown that leads to an extreme pause on federally funded operations, said Goss, there are number of impacts that could be felt in communities if a weeks-long shutdown were to happen. This includes:

• Active-duty service members and National Guard members missing paychecks.

• Community centers, after-school programs, tutoring, adult education courses and their provided employment training depleting funding.

• State agencies eventually seeing their federal funding drying up, which includes a halt on processing federal permits, a lack of technical support for federal programs and, eventually, stopgap state funding for programs paid for with federal funds.

During the 16-day government shutdown in October 2013, the impacts were as follows:

• Some federal programs that assist low-income families, such as SNAP and WIC, stopped providing new vouchers.

• Civilian workers at Dover Air Force Base and the Delaware National Guard had to stay home and went unpaid for about two weeks.

• The Veterans Benefits Administration closed and directed veterans to file claims online or by mail.

• Bombay Hook and Prime Hook national wildlife refuges closed.

Got a tip or a story idea? Contact Krys'tal Griffin at kgriffin@delawareonline.com.   

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: What happens during a government shutdown? How it will impact Delaware