WASHINGTON \u2014 Longer lines at airports, missed paychecks, shuttered national parks and delayed economic data \u2014 those are some of the potential impacts of a looming federal government shutdown. <\/p>\n
Infighting among House Republicans is driving the government to the brink of a potentially protracted shutdown this weekend. Barring a breakthrough, federal funding will lapse at midnight on Sept. 30. <\/p>\n
Not all services would abruptly stop. Medicare payments and efforts to safeguard nuclear weapons would be unaffected. You\u2019d likely still get mail and be able to travel on Amtrak. You wouldn\u2019t, however, be able to get married in D.C. courts.<\/p>\n
Many federal employees are likely to be furloughed, but some would be made to work without pay until the shutdown ends. The last major shutdown in 2018-2019 lasted 35 days. <\/p>\n
The Office of Management and Budget has collected agency contingency plans that outline what happens in the event of a shutdown. Here are some highlights: <\/p>\n
Labor<\/p>\n
\u2014Among the Department of Labor agencies that would \u201ccompletely cease operations\u201d is the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which publishes the monthly jobs report. That and other delays to economic data from the government would have policymakers and investors looking to third parties to try to fill in the blanks on the health of the economy.<\/p>\n
\u2014The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, charged with promoting labor-management cooperation, would have to cut back its work amid a strike by the United Auto Workers.<\/p>\n
Federal Reserve<\/p>\n
\u2014Federal Reserve activity would be unaffected, meaning the central bank could still raise interest rates at its next meeting Nov. 1.<\/p>\n
Financial Regulators <\/p>\n
\u2014The Federal Trade Commission would stop \u201cthe vast bulk of its competition and consumer protection investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014The Securities and Exchange Commission wouldn\u2019t review or approve registrations from investment advisers, broker-dealers, transfer agents, rating organizations, investment companies and municipal advisers.<\/p>\n
\u2014The Commodity Futures Trading Commission would stop “the vast bulk of its operations,” including most enforcement division functions, but it’ll keep up work that would allow the “commodities, futures and swaps markets to continue to operate and that will enable trading on those markets to continue.”<\/p>\n
Treasury, IRS<\/p>\n
\u2014The Treasury Department broadly outlined that work would continue for those supporting the White House on market and economic updates, policy work and other items required to fulfill the president’s constitutional authorities. Among activities that would cease during a shutdown: “routine international engagement, domestic finance, and economic policy” as well as processing of cases under the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u2014The IRS would stop picking up the phone and answering the 46,000 calls it receives on average daily, while most tax administration functions stop. <\/p>\n
\u2014The Treasury would keep working to implement tax credits created or expanded under the Inflation Reduction Act, though guidance on claiming incentives for hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuels and other ventures could be delayed.<\/p>\n
\u2014Businesses and individuals who requested six-month extensions for their tax returns in April are still required to file by Oct. 16.<\/p>\n
Emergency Relief<\/p>\n
\u2014A shutdown would \u201ccreate an increased risk\u201d Federal Emergency Management Agency relief funds would be depleted, and \u201ccomplicate new emergency response efforts if additional catastrophic disasters occur.\u201d<\/p>\n
Energy & Environment<\/p>\n
\u2014Although the Interior Department has issued permits for some offshore oil and gas drilling during at least one previous shutdown, it’s not clear that would happen again. <\/p>\n
\u2014A funding lapse would paralyze other work to develop required environmental analyses for energy projects, highways and other infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u2014The Environmental Protection Agency can continue some IRA-funded activities as well as other exempted work, such as settlement-funded cleanup at some Superfund sites.<\/p>\n
\u2014The White House has warned most EPA-led inspections at hazardous waste sites, as well as drinking water and chemical facilities, would stop.<\/p>\n
\u2014The Energy Information Administration, which publishes snapshots of U.S. oil inventories and fuel demand, would continue to collect and publish data on schedule, at least initially.<\/p>\n
\u2014The National Nuclear Security Administration would focus on \u201cmaintenance and safeguarding of nuclear weapons; international non-proliferation activities; and servicing deployed naval reactors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014The Nuclear Regulatory Commission would stop licensing, certification and permitting and inspection activities, along with emergency preparedness exercises.<\/p>\n
Transportation & Travel<\/p>\n
\u2014Travelers could face delays as air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers working without pay could lead to higher rates of no-shows, as happened in 2019.<\/p>\n
\u2014Amtrak would keep transporting passengers.<\/p>\n
\u2014Passports and visas would still be issued at consular offices worldwide, provided \u201cthere are sufficient fees to support operations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defense<\/p>\n
\u2014Efforts \u201cto defend the nation and conduct ongoing military operations\u201d would continue, but most civilian Defense Department employees would be furloughed.<\/p>\n
\u2014Burials and tours at Arlington National Cemetery would continue.<\/p>\n
\u2014Of the Department of Homeland Security’s 256,972 employees as of June, almost nine in 10 are deemed exempt and would report to work, including almost 145,000 whose work is deemed necessary to protect life and property.<\/p>\n
Health & Social Security<\/p>\n
\u2014COVID-19 response and research, including vaccine and therapeutic development, would carry on under the Department of Health & Human Services.<\/p>\n
\u2014The National Institutes of Health might have to postpone clinical trials for diseases like cancer or Alzheimer\u2019s, according to the White House.<\/p>\n
\u2014Medicine-price negotiations could be sent into disarray, as some drugmakers face an Oct. 2 deadline to report data to Medicare for use in determining new prices.<\/p>\n
\u2014Food stamps for low-income people, the disabled, and others could be delayed.<\/p>\n
\u2014Social Security checks would be delivered, and applications for benefits processed, but people would not be able to verify benefits or replace Medicare cards.<\/p>\n
Parks<\/p>\n
\u2014Most national parks would likely be shuttered, turning away visitors and crippling businesses in the $800 billion outdoor recreation economy. Easily accessible sites would generally remain so \u2014 but without customary staffing and resources.<\/p>\n
\u2014Museums including the Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art could close in a protracted shutdown.<\/p>\n
\u2014The \u201cFat Bear Week\u201d tournament run by Alaska\u2019s Katmai National Park would go dark.<\/p>\n
\u2014Cemeteries, monuments, and visitor centers worldwide housed under the American Battle Monuments Commission also would shutter.<\/p>\n
Housing<\/p>\n
\u2014\u201cNearly all\u201d Department of Housing and Urban Development fair housing work would stop, as would some monthly subsidy programs, including potentially for public housing operations.<\/p>\n
\u2014HUD\u2019s work for the Federal Housing Administration\u2019s insured mortgages portfolio and Ginnie Mae\u2019s work in the secondary mortgage market would be unaffected.<\/p>\n
Commerce<\/p>\n
\u2014Review or issuance of loans under the Small Business Administration would cease, including those for women-owned and service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses.<\/p>\n
\u2014Commerce Department collection of decennial census data probably would continue, as would forecasting and warnings around weather, water, and climate.<\/p>\n
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