WASHINGTON — More than 10,000 Federal Aviation Administration workers face furlough notices, and nearly 14,000 air traffic controllers are working without pay as the partial government shutdown heads into its fourth day on Tuesday.
Already, the lack of funding has forced the Small Business Administration to stop processing loans, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics delayed its release of the January jobs report.
Scores of government employees are technically working without pay, though they aren’t likely to experience a delay in getting their paychecks if the House moves quickly to pass President Trump-backed legislation to fund the government.
Federal funding expired at 12:01 am Saturday for several major agencies, but the government has attempted to minimize disruptions and keep key programs such as the IRS’s customer service lines, Veterans’ Affairs, national parks, and memorials open.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is estimated to have somewhere between $7 billion and $8 billion to respond to natural disasters such as the cold weather impacting the country.
House lawmakers are racing back to Washington, DC to vote on a compromise deal to end the partial shutdown. AFP via Getty Images
However, disruptions – including at airports – are more at risk if the partial shutdown drags on much longer. Then furloughs from federal agencies will likely pile up, and government services will have to be scaled down further.
A contingency plan from the Transportation Department shows that 13,835 air traffic controllers are going unpaid, while nearly a quarter of the FAA workforce would be put on leave.
Unlike the record-breaking 43-day government shutdown last year, the current one is partial. That’s because Congress already passed six of the 12 appropriations bills needed to fully fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year.
But six more bills need to clear Congress to fund homeland security, defense, transportation, financial services, national security, labor, healthcare, and education.
Flights could get delayed or cancelled if the partial shutdown drags on for a long time. Christopher Sadowski
Social Security check disbursements will not be impacted by the partial shutdown. MargJohnsonVA – stock.adobe.comCritically, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the US Postal Service, Veteran Affairs, and Social Security checks will not be impacted by the shutdown.
This partial funding lapse appears to have an end in sight.
“I’m confident that we’ll do it at least by Tuesday,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, when asked about when the government shutdown will end.
“No one wanted to put that pain on the American people again. The Democrats forced it. We were insistent that we would not allow that to happen.”
The last government shutdown sparked concerns that it could upend holiday travel. Stephen Yang for the New York PostDuring the last government shutdown, Republicans and Democrats essentially set a Jan. 30 deadline to pass the remaining funding bills.
The House did just that, approving a six-bill package before adjourning for recess. But then, after the shooting of Alex Pretti, 37, Senate Democrats revolted and shot down the deal, demanding that the Department of Homeland Security funding bill be stricken.
The Senate then passed a compromise package with the other five funding bills and put DHS funding on autopilot for two weeks to buy time for negotiations to play out over Democrats’ demands for reforms at the department.
The legislation now awaits a vote in the House as soon as Tuesday.
