Have You Been Affected by the Shutdown?

What’s the story?

• As the partial government shutdown enters its 24th day, federal workers aren’t the only ones finding themselves affected by Washington’s budget impasse.

How might the shutdown affect you?

• California's Joshua Tree National Park is temporarily closed after visitors caused damage during the shutdown. Sections of Yosemite National Park and much of Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks are closed as well.

• People are reporting longer lines at airports due to short staffing at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints.

• All Smithsonian museums, as well as the National Zoo, were shuttered on January 2nd. The last time the Smithsonian closed its doors was during the 2013 shutdown, which lasted 16 days.

• While the USDA will continue distributing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, it won’t be issuing any new rural development loans which are used to to aid home, business, and utility development in rural areas. The Small Business Administration also won’t be processing loan applications. Same goes for housing development grants.

• E-Verify, which allows businesses to check the employment eligibility of workers and job-candidates, is no longer being updated.
• The Food and Drug Administration, which oversees 80 percent of the food supply, has suspended all routine inspections of domestic food-processing facilities.

What do you think?

Have you been affected by the shutdown? How? Do Democrats & President Trump need to cut a deal on border security funding? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts and experiences below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: CCN)