WASHINGTON ‒ Lawmakers continued to play the blame game as the federal government shutdown stretches into a new week and there appears to be no progress on reopening the government’s doors.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, where they addressed the current status of funding talks on Capitol Hill. Jeffries said the last time he spoke with Republican leaders was in a White House meeting with President Donald Trump in late September.
“Our view is that we will find bipartisan common ground with our Republican colleagues to reopen the government, to actually pass a spending bill that meets the needs of the American people,” he said. Democrats have been urging Republicans to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Meanwhile, Johnson said it’s up to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Democratic colleagues to support the Republican-crafted spending bill that passed in the House last month.
About 750,000 federal employees ranging from workers at national parks to financial regulators could be furloughed under a shutdown, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, withholding about $400 million in daily compensation.
Other workers in government services considered “essential,” such as military members and law enforcement, will continue to work but won’t be paid until a deal is reached.
What happens next?
The Senate is scheduled to vote tomorrow evening on the Republican-backed, short-term funding bill that would keep spending at its current level. However, it will likely fail again, given that no additional Democrats have come out and said they would support it since the last vote in the upper chamber.
Senate Republicans need an additional five Democrats to support the bill for it to pass. Right now, Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, and Angus King, an independent of Maine who caucuses with Democrats, have joined Republicans in voting for the bill.
Meanwhile, the House is out of session the entire week.
What happens to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid?
The Social Security Administration will continue to issue retirement and disability benefits, but will furlough 12% of its staff and pause marketing campaigns, according to the agency’s shutdown plan.
Payments will likewise continue under the Medicare and Medicaid health programs.
Will a government shutdown impact my flight?
For the most part, no. Air passengers should still be able to continue with their flights during a partial government shutdown.
Those workers who screen at airport security checkpoints, give flight clearance, and verify at border control are deemed essential, so they are still required to work.
However, a group representing major U.S. airlines warned a partial federal government shutdown could strain American aviation and slow flights, as air traffic controllers and security officers would be forced to work without pay and other functions would be halted.
Airline trade group Airlines for America, which represents United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others, warned that if funding lapses “the system may need to slow down, reducing efficiency” and impacting travelers.
– Kathleen Wong
Booker says shutdown is a ‘tsunami of Donald Trump’s creation’
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker argued to ABC’s “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz that Republicans are not willing to come to the table to negotiate with Democrats on a funding deal.
“It’s the president’s responsibility to get a – bring the parties together and get a budget passed. They control the House, the Senate and the White House, and the president hasn’t done that,” Booker said.
Asked whether he’s worried that Democrats will take the blame for the shutdown from the American people, the New Jersey senator said, “I don’t care about the blame game.”
“I care about Americans losing their health insurance. Rates of death going up, hospitals being crushed, medical services ending in places in rural America. This is a tsunami of Donald Trump’s creation,” Booker said.
Why are lawmakers fighting over health care and immigrants?
Republicans are claiming Democrats shut down the government to demand free health care for undocumented immigrants. But these migrants are largely ineligible for federal health benefits, said Leo Cuello, a professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
They don’t qualify for comprehensive Medicaid coverage, Medicare or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. And they can’t purchase federally subsidized health plans on exchanges backed by the Affordable Care Act. There are legal immigrants on Medicaid in the United States, so-called “qualified aliens” who were previously eligible for Medicaid coverage.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, they included only lawful immigrants: legal permanent residents, refugees, people granted asylum, people granted humanitarian parole including Ukrainians and Afghans, certain Cubans and Haitians; and certain victims of human trafficking and domestic violence, among others.
The new tax and spending law Trump signed in July restricts eligibility only to U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents – i.e. green card holders – as well as some Cuban and Haitian immigrants. There is no proposal to provide free health care to people living in the country illegally.
– Lauren Villagran and Sarah Wire
What does a government shutdown mean for student loans? What about FAFSA?
In the event of a government shutdown, borrowers would still be required to make payments on their outstanding student debt.
The Department of Education will continue to disburse Pell Grants and Federal Direct Student loans, according to the department’s contingency plan. As available, permanent and multi-year appropriations will also be used to continue processing Free Applications for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, the plan said.
During a lapse in funding, the department would cease any new grantmaking activities; however, grant programs typically make awards over the summer.
Borrowers with a question or dispute related to their loan may have a tougher time reaching the department, as it plans to furlough the majority of its staff.
Experts say while most borrowers won’t “feel” a short shutdown, more issues could arise the longer it takes those in Washington to make a deal.
− Rachel Barber
Health care subsidies, Medicaid cuts remain sticking points
About 750,000 federal workers have been furloughed amid the shutdown.
Democrats have insisted any funding bill to reopen the government also restore Medicaid cuts that Republicans passed this summer and extend enhanced subsidies in the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire at the end of the year.
The White House has called for Democrats to vote with Republicans to pass a clean bill to reopen the government, saying Republicans will then negotiate health care policy before the subsidies expire.
Trump, however, has not said whether he would support extending subsidies tied to the Affordable Care Act – former President Obama’s signature law that Republicans have long tried to dismantle.
Statue of Liberty may go dark, New York governor warns
The Statue of Liberty may go dark during the federal government shutdown, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Wednesday.
With Lady Liberty as a backdrop, the New York Democrat stood alongside state elected officials and union representatives to call out Republicans in Washington for the shutdown’s effects on entitlement programs, as well as closures to services and parks.
This may include Liberty Island and nearby Ellis Island, the historic entry to the United States for millions of people who became Americans. Lady Liberty, dedicated nearly 140 years ago in New York Harbor, has symbolized the country’s embrace of immigrants.
Hochul said New York wouldn’t pay to keep the Statue of Liberty open during Washington’s budget fight as the state had done before.
“Today, the torch she holds — as a beacon to others, a symbol — could literally go dark,” Hochul said. “Not because of an act of God or a horrific storm, flood or hurricane. But literally because Donald Trump and Republicans in Washington forced a government shutdown.”
− Eduardo Cuevas
Is the DMV impacted by the government shutdown?
No. It’s business as usual at Department of Motor Vehicles offices across the country. Like the U.S. Postal Service, the agency’s operations are not contingent on Congress passing a funding package.
Motor vehicle departments, which are state-run agencies, are largely funded through state budgets and supplemented by fees charged to drivers.
– Amaris Encinas
More: Reopening government may hinge on Republicans agreeing to health care negotiations
How is the IRS impacted by the government shutdown?
The Internal Revenue Service will not immediately be impacted by the government shutdown. More than 74,000 IRS employees are expected to report to work for the first day days after the shutdown’s start, per the IRS’ government shutdown contingency plan.
The federal government agency will continue operating under the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides supplemental appropriations to the IRS through Sept. 30, 2031, according to the contingency plan. However, the plan does not outline the agency’s next steps after Oct. 5.
– Greta Cross
National Park site operations will vary during the government shutdown.
National Park operations will vary during the government shutdown.
In general parks will remain open and “park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors,” according to newly published contingency plans on the Department of Interior’s website.
Parks with accessible areas that collect fees under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act are to use balances from those fees to continue providing basic visitor services like restroom maintenance and trash collection.
However, the plan says the National Park Service will not operate nor offer visitor services in parks without accessible areas, though essential services like law enforcement and border safety will continue. Also facilities and areas that are typically locked or secured after business hours will largely remain so during the shutdown.
– Eve Chen
House won’t return until Oct. 13, leaving Senate to end shutdown
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, announced Friday that his lawmakers would remain out of town for another week, leaving the Senate to resolve the government shutdown.
The move came after the Senate Democrats rejected the House spending proposal.
The House was scheduled to return Oct. 7. But a clerk announced during a brief session that Johnson extended what is called a “district work period,” when lawmakers are back in their home states, until Oct. 13.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer slammed Johnson’s decision. “Johnson and House Republicans care more about protecting the Epstein files than protecting the American people,” he said.
‒ Bart Jansen
Contributing: USA TODAY staff
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Government shutdown updates and latest on Social Security, flights, furloughs
Reporting by Joey Garrison and Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
