Even though many government-funded organizations will be closed on Saturday and their staff won’t be paid, Social Security benefits will still be issued.
Shorter-term appropriations bills approved by Congress and signed by the president do not fund Social Security, which is regarded as a mandatory program. This implies that even during government shutdowns, it continues to operate and receive funding.
That matters to a lot of Americans because, according to the Social Security Administration, 67 million people receive monthly benefits from Social Security. These benefits are mainly awarded to retirees, but they also benefit disabled individuals and the dependents of deceased beneficiaries.
Benefits from Medicare and Veterans Affairs are also still paid out during a shutdown.
In the event that a bill approving additional funding is not passed by Congress, the federal government will shut down on Saturday at 12:01 GMT. The Republicans hold a slim majority in the House, but some extreme conservatives are refusing to cooperate with other Republicans and are calling for significant reductions in government expenditures.
The Senate’s Democratic majority and President Joe Biden are against the proposed cuts.
“Necessary” activities would cease during a shutdown, and 4 million federal employees would not be paid.
Some people, including those in the military, would work for free in the future and get paid again after a new funding bill is approved and signed into law. There would be a furlough and a lack of attendance for other federal employees.
Moreover, a shutdown would terminate a large number of other federal initiatives. In September, when a government shutdown appeared likely, the Biden administration announced that WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, would cease to exist after one or two days. According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, some states might be able to extend the duration of their programs.
The goal of the WIC program is to provide access to healthier food for low-income children under five, as well as pregnant and postpartum women. In 2022, the Agriculture Department reports that over 6 million people—roughly 39% of all infants in the United States—received monthly WIC benefits.
The economy might suffer from an extended shutdown as well. The longest shutdown, which took place from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019, lasted for 35 days. The Congressional Budget Office calculated that it had a direct cost to the U.S. economy of at least $11 billion, with indirect costs being more difficult to measure.
A standoff over the debt ceiling should not be confused with a government shutdown. Earlier this year, the United States of America reached its debt ceiling, or borrowing limit. If the impasse had continued long enough, it could have prevented Social Security checks from being issued, but congressional Republicans and Democrats eventually came to an agreement to stop it.
