Government Shutdown information & resources

For months, Republicans have refused to negotiate with Congressional Democrats over a bipartisan funding bill. Consequently, on October 1, the federal government shut down. Democrats have repeatedly urged Republicans to negotiate a path forward that keeps the government funded and addresses the health care crisis Republicans created.

During a federal government shutdown, only certain federal activities deemed essential may continue. My office is currently unable to respond to most calls or messages. Please note that correspondence to my office will receive a reply once the government reopens and the office resumes normal business operations. All tours (i.e., U.S. Capitol, White House, FBI Building, etc.) are cancelled during a shutdown. If you have booked a tour through my office and wish to reschedule, please call (202) 224-6361 and my staff will respond when operations resume.

The Trump Administration will decide how the shutdown will impact specific federal agencies and programs. Updated information can be found here.

To read more about how the federal government shutdown may impact you and your family in the immediate future, please refer to the list below. This is not an exhaustive list and will be updated periodically.

Agriculture and Nutrition

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) will stop new loan and loan guarantee activity, and most farm service programs will halt.
Meat, poultry, and egg inspections will continue.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has enough funding to operate for approximately the first week of the shutdown. Once the WIC program runs out of funding, states will triage participants, prioritizing benefits for pregnant and breastfeeding women and some infants. Please monitor the Hawaii Department of Health’s WIC website for updates.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for October have been disbursed. In the case of a prolonged shutdown, SNAP can tap into a reserve fund, but benefits may be affected in November.
Feeding programs for older Americans, like Meals on Wheels, are partially funded by federal funds and will be impacted.

Disaster Relief

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) staff will continue to provide services and respond to immediate disaster needs (e.g., search and rescue, emergency shelter and medical care, food and water distribution).
The National Weather Service and United States Geological Survey will also continue forecast services.

Education

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) will continue to administer federal student aid programs (i.e., Pell Grants and student loans). Pell Grants and student loans will continue to be disbursed. Loan payments will continue to be processed, so borrowers are expected to continue making them during the shutdown.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applications are expected to be processed by Federal Student Aid (FSA). However, students may experience significant delays when trying to contact FSA due to the substantial furloughs at ED.

Environmental Protection

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will stop inspecting most hazardous waste sites, as well as drinking water and chemical facilities.
Efforts to address dangerous contaminants will be delayed, and cleanup activities will slow or cease.

Family Assistance

Recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and unemployment insurance will continue to receive their benefits if states have funds to pay those benefits.

Federal Courts and Law Enforcement

Federal law enforcement will be required to work without pay for the duration of a shutdown.
Most Border Patrol, customs officers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents will be retained.
Federal courts will remain open and continue operations for at least two weeks. If the shutdown continues after that period, the courts will reassess.

Federal Employees

Federal employees whose responsibilities include essential services will work without pay until the shutdown ends; non-essential federal employees will be furloughed without pay. Please check with your agency to determine your work status.
Pursuant to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, furloughed and essential federal employees will receive backpay once the shutdown ends.
Furloughed employees are eligible for unemployment insurance benefits through the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. After you receive your backpay, you will be required to repay these benefits.
Federal workers’ health insurance coverage will continue for the duration of the shutdown.
Dental, vision, and long-term care insurance will continue for two pay periods, after which employees will be responsible for paying premiums to maintain benefits.
Federal contractors may be impacted depending on the funding available to your employer. If impacted, federal contractors are not guaranteed backpay at the end of the shutdown. Please check with your employer to determine your work status.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Agencies

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will continue to respond to and investigate immediate disease outbreaks, but public communication about health-related information will be limited or suspended.
Routine food safety activities (e.g., inspections of facilities) conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may be delayed. FDA will continue to mitigate imminent threats to human safety including monitoring for and responding to outbreaks related to foodborne illness and the flu, detecting public health emergencies, and managing recalls.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be forced to delay new clinical trials. New patients seeking to enroll in a NIH clinical trial could face delays or be denied.
New funding for medical research provided through HHS agencies, such as NIH or CDC, may be delayed until the end of a shut down.

Housing

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will stop insuring some new mortgages, but there will be no delays processing or closing on FHA-insured loans.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will stop processing some new loans. However, HUD staff inspections that involve threat to life or property will continue.
HUD will also continue to disburse CDBG, HOME, HOPWA, and Homeless Assistance Grant funds, and other block grant funds that are already obligated to grantees.
Funding for federal housing assistance programs (e.g., Housing Choice Vouchers) may be jeopardized in a prolonged shut down.
Assisted Housing payments—including for public housing operations, Section 8 vouchers and Project-based rental assistance—will continue as long as funding remains available.

Immigration

Operations of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will continue but with potential delays to the provided services. Immigration applications will continue to be processed, and the Honolulu office of USCIS will remain open.

Mail Service

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is not funded by Congress and will not be affected by the government shut down. All post offices will remain open for business as usual.
However, the Postal Regulatory Commission will be closed during the shutdown, so there will be delays addressing service concerns.

Medicare and Medicaid (Med-QUEST)

Current Medicare, Medicaid, and disability insurance beneficiaries will continue to receive their benefits assuming a shutdown lasts less than three months. However, beneficiaries may have difficulty reaching these agencies, as employees may be furloughed.
You can still call 1-800-MEDICARE or Hawaii SHIP (808-586-7299) if you have questions about your eligibility or benefits.
If you lose your Medicare card, it may not be reissued during a shut down.
Expanded telehealth flexibilities have expired for most Medicare beneficiaries. You should check with your provider about current and upcoming telehealth services if you are covered by Medicare.
If a shutdown is prolonged, you will be able to enroll in or make changes to your Medicare coverage during the Medicare open enrollment period beginning on October 15.

Military Personnel

All active-duty personnel, Guardsmen and Reservists on active-duty orders, and civilian personnel of the Department of Defense (DOD) deemed essential are required to work without pay during a government shut down. Operations “essential” to national security will continue, as will all preparations for troops getting ready for deployment.
Contractors performing under a contract (or contract option) awarded prior to the expiration of appropriations may continue to provide contract services up to the limit of the funds obligated on the contract. Most new contracts, including renewals and extensions, will not be executed during the shutdown. The lapse in appropriations does not require the termination of contracts or issuing of stop work order unless a new obligation of funds is required under the contract and the contract is not required to support an expected activity.
Childcare: On-base childcare will be open on a case-by-case basis. Families should confirm the status with their specific military base or installation.
Commissaries: Only overseas commissaries and those in remote U.S. locations where there are no other reasonable sources of food available for military personnel will remain open.
DOD Schools: DOD educational activities for the regular school year will continue.
Death Gratuities: Death gratuities will continue as long as resources remain available.
Health Care: Military treatment facilities will continue to provide inpatient care as well as acute and emergency outpatient medical and dental care. However, elective surgeries and procedures may be delayed. On-base non-acute health care will cease; however, off-base private sector care provided through TRICARE will not be affected.
Military Academies: Students can continue to attend classes only if the instructor is military or is a contractor paid with prior-year funds.
Morale, Welfare, and Recreation: DOD guidance allows morale, welfare and recreation activities that receive any taxpayer funding to operate during a shut down if they are deemed necessary to support essential operations, such as mess halls, physical training and childcare activities required for readiness.
Retirement Benefits: Military and federal retirees will continue to receive their retirement benefits. Processing new applications or other requested changes will be delayed.

National Parks and Monuments

Closures will be determined on a location-by-location basis.
Services that require National Park Service staff (e.g., trash removal and operating campgrounds and concessions) may be stopped.
National Park Service historic sites in Hawaii, including Pearl Harbor National Memorial, home of the USS Arizona Memorial; Battleship Missouri Memorial; Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum; Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum and USS Bowfin submarine, will remain open and operate at normal hours during the government shutdown.

Passports and American Citizens Overseas

Consular operations domestically and abroad, passport services, and visa services will remain operational if there are sufficient fees to support operations. In a prolonged shutdown, passport and visa issuance could be delayed.
If a passport office is in a government building affected by the shutdown, the office will continue to remain open.

Small Businesses

The Small Business Administration (SBA) will stop processing new business loans, such as through the 7(a) and 504 programs.
SBA’s Disaster Loan Program will continue regular operations.

Social Security and SSI Checks

Beneficiaries will continue to receive their Social Security and SSI checks.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) will continue to provide limited services, including issuing Social Security cards and holding appointments for benefit applications.
Services like benefit verifications, transition assistance, and processing overpayments will halt.
Customer service wait times will likely increase during a shutdown as many SSA employees could be furloughed.

State and Local Government Impacts

The federal government shut down will not immediately affect any state or local services. However, with federal funding cut off, some state or local governments may adjust their operations. Please reach out to state and local agencies for specific questions.

Taxes

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will stop responding to paper correspondence.
Taxpayer services (e.g., call centers and taxpayer assistance centers) will close.
Tax refunds for late-filers will be delayed, except in cases where refunds for electronically filed, error-free returns can be deposited automatically.
Tax deadlines are not extended because of a shut down. Taxpayers remain responsible for timely submission of any filings or tax payments on their original due dates.

Travel

Air traffic controllers, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents will remain on the job without pay.
Applications for Global Entry will be suspended during the shutdown.
Airport Quarantine and Inspections program, and Inline agriculture inspections at the airport will continue as usual.

Veterans' Services

All Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities and clinics will remain operational. The VA’s suicide prevention hotline will also remain operational.
The VA will continue to process veterans’ benefits. However, VA benefits regional offices will be closed.
Continuing Services: Benefits under the Veterans Benefits Administration will continue, including Education Benefit Claims processing and payments; insurance processing; loan guaranty programs; Veteran Readiness and Employment payment processing; VBA National Call Centers (except for Education); Compensation and Pension Claims processing and payments; Decision Review Operations Centers and management. VA will also continue to guarantee home loans.
Halted Services: GI Bill hotline; career counseling; transition assistance program activities; education and job training; support for veteran owned businesses; and assistance for homeless veterans.
Retirement Benefits: Military and federal retirees will continue to receive their retirement benefits, but processing new applications or other requested changes will be delayed.
Burials: Burials will continue at VA national cemeteries along with application processing for headstones, markers, and burial benefits. VA will not permanently place headstones or maintain the grounds at VA national cemeteries.