What happens during a government shutdown and how Tennessee could be impacted

A federal government shutdown is a real possibility this week. While many services critical to Tennesseans won't necessarily be fully shuttered, much of daily life for residents could be disrupted.

Government employees could miss paychecks. Airline delays are a very real possibility. Federal parks may remain open, but visitor services and ground maintenance might be minimal. A variety of veteran benefit services won't be available.

Congress is running out of time to pass funding legislation or a stopgap measure, called a continuing resolution, to prevent the shutdown of all federal agencies that are not deemed "essential," such as the U.S. Postal Service, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Social Security Administration.

Lawmakers have until Saturday to reach a deal.

Tennessee is home to numerous federal institutions and could directly feel the pain of a shutdown. But even those not employed by the government or who benefit directly from it could feel the effects of a shutdown.

The White House also issued a report on Monday saying a shutdown could threaten food assistance for 7 million women and children, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). That includes 133,284 recipients in Tennessee.

"During an Extreme Republican Shutdown, women and children who count on WIC would soon start being turned away at grocery store counters, with a federal contingency fund drying up after just a few days and many states left with limited WIC funds to operate the program," The White House said in a statement.

One of the conservative holdouts, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., argued he and his conservative colleagues are just looking to “balance our budget,” on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“We’re sticking to our guns and all of a sudden, we’re the bad guys because we want to balance our budget,” Burchett said.

The last government shutdown was during the Trump administration and stretched for 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019.

Air travel could be disrupted

There are 931 Transportation Security Administration workers and 445 air traffic controllers at Tennessee's 78 airports, according to the White House. Most work at the top five airports in the largest cities.

They are required to continue working in a shutdown but will not be paid until the government reopens.

One take: Congress should follow Tim Burchett's lead and forgo pay if there's a government shutdown

"The vast majority of our members are required to work without pay throughout the duration of a shutdown, including mandatory overtime, while others are furloughed," the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a release.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said the Federal Aviation Administration already is facing an air traffic controller shortage, and a shutdown would exacerbate the problem.

During the most recent government shutdown, it took about two weeks for airport workers to stop showing up to work. If a shutdown happens, travelers over time would likely see the effects in the form of longer lines and more delays.

Veteran services and military pay

Tennessee is home to more than 435,000 veterans, or about 8% of the population.

In the case of a government shutdown, there would be "no impact" on veteran health care services at Veterans Aassociation Tennessee Valley Healthcare System facilities, said Hannah McDuffie, spokeswoman for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Tennessee.

Burials would also continue at VA national cemeteries. And the Veterans Benefits Administration would continue to process and deliver benefits to veterans, McDuffie said. But the VBA would have to cease outreach as its regional offices would be closed and other operations, such as career counseling and transition assistance, would not be available, she said.

When the government shuts down, the two million active service members remain at their posts but about half of its civilian workforce will be furloughed. Active-duty troops won’t be paid while they are furloughed, but they will be repaid once the government reopens.

Tennessee had 2,348 active-duty military personnel in 2021, according to the latest military demographics report.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

A National Park Service spokesperson declined to detail to Knox News what could happen in the event of a shutdown, but a look at recent history gives a clue to how things could play out.

In 2019, the park stayed open but many visitor services were not available. That led to overflowing garbage cans and damage from drivers taking their vehicles off-roading. Visitor centers were closed as the shutdown went into a second week.

Staffing dipped down to a bare minimum, primarily focused on security.

The Park Service also warned at the time that it would not have been able to maintain roads if the shutdown continued.

Tennessee Valley Authority and the post office

The Tennessee Valley Authority provides electricity for 153 local power companies across Tennessee and surrounding states as well as federal facilities. But because it isn't directly funded by taxpayer dollars, it won't be affected by the shutdown.

"TVA is funded almost exclusively from the sales of electricity with no federal appropriations," Tom Satkowiak, TVA's senior communications consultant, told Knox News in an email. "In the case of a federal government shutdown, operations at TVA would not be impacted."

Similarly, the post office has its own funding stream and has been less affected by shutdowns than other agencies.

Social Security, Medicare and TennCare

About 8,500 of the Social Security administration’s nearly 62,000 employees would be furloughed in the event of a shutdown, according to its 2024 fiscal year contingency plan.

Under the plan, agency services that would continue without interruption include processing of benefit applications, appeal requests and hearings, post-entitlement actions such as address changes and the issuing of new and replacement Social Security cards. A few services – such as verification of benefits, or corrections and updates to earnings records – would be temporarily suspended.

Medicare benefits would not be interrupted. Similarly, the Medicaid program (known in Tennessee as TennCare) would not be affected, said spokeswoman Amy Lawrence.

"Federal Medicaid funding is mandatory under federal law," Lawrence said. "We expect no disruptions to TennCare’s federal funding in the event of a federal government shutdown."

USA TODAY reporter Ken Tran, Pensacola News Journal reporter Brandon Girod and Columbus Dispatch reporter Cole Behrens contributed to this report

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What happens to Tennessee during a government shutdown? What to know