With the possibility of a federal shutdown only hours away, government agencies have produced detailed contingency plans of how the shutdown would affect their operations as well as services in our listening area.
If Congress cannot pass a spending bill by midnight, most federal agencies will tell non-essential government employees to stay home on Tuesday. However, a few entities are considered essential programs and will continue to operate under mandatory spending.
Social Security and SNAP (or food stamp) benefits would continue and the Department of Veterans Affairs says it can continue issuing benefit checks until October 17th, at which time they will run out of money.
Active-duty military personnel will continue to report but the Department of Defense will send home nearly 400,000 civilian employees.
The National Weather Service will continue to issue critical services such as forecasts and severe weather warnings.
The State Department may process current applications for passport renewals and new social security cards with delays, but new applications won’t be accepted.
All other government offices, including federal parks and museums, will be closed to the public until the shutdown is lifted.
A complete list of shutdown plans is listed on the White House’s website.
