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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| What Is and Isn’t Affected by the Government Shutdown | What Is and Isn’t Affected by the Government Shutdown |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| The federal shutdown is nearly two weeks old, but some core government functions remain up and running. Mail is still being delivered and the military, law enforcement and entitlement programs are largely unaffected. | |
| Still, many operations have ceased. | Still, many operations have ceased. |
| Nine departments, including those of Homeland Security, Justice, State and Treasury, are affected. So are several federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and NASA. | Nine departments, including those of Homeland Security, Justice, State and Treasury, are affected. So are several federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and NASA. |
| In all, about 800,000 government employees are feeling the effects, with just under half sent home on unpaid leave and just over half working without pay. Those who are working can expect compensation when the government reopens, but those who have been furloughed have no such guarantee. | In all, about 800,000 government employees are feeling the effects, with just under half sent home on unpaid leave and just over half working without pay. Those who are working can expect compensation when the government reopens, but those who have been furloughed have no such guarantee. |
| [Government workers feel like ‘pawns’ in a political game of chess.] | |
| Here’s a brief look at what the shutdown has affected, and what it hasn’t. | |
| Many national parks are closed to visitors, and while some have remained open with bare-bones staffing, or because states have stepped in to provide services, the National Park Service has warned that “access may change without notice.” | |
| Take Joshua Tree National Park, about 130 miles from Los Angeles. It closed on Wednesday, in part because the park service could not keep up with the mess left by visitors. | Take Joshua Tree National Park, about 130 miles from Los Angeles. It closed on Wednesday, in part because the park service could not keep up with the mess left by visitors. |
| [Read more on how parks and museums are affected by the shutdown.] | [Read more on how parks and museums are affected by the shutdown.] |
| “The park is being forced to take this action for health and safety concerns as vault toilets reach capacity,” the park service said. “In addition to human waste in public areas, driving off road and other infractions that damage the resource are becoming a problem.” | “The park is being forced to take this action for health and safety concerns as vault toilets reach capacity,” the park service said. “In addition to human waste in public areas, driving off road and other infractions that damage the resource are becoming a problem.” |
| Museums have been affected, too. | Museums have been affected, too. |
| The National Gallery of Art, all 19 Smithsonian museums, and the National Zoo were closed because of the shutdown. (“Essential personnel” remain on hand at the zoo to care for the animals.) | The National Gallery of Art, all 19 Smithsonian museums, and the National Zoo were closed because of the shutdown. (“Essential personnel” remain on hand at the zoo to care for the animals.) |
| Under the shutdown, most I.R.S. operations have stopped. According to a contingency plan covering the final weeks of December, about seven in eight of the agency’s nearly 80,000 employees have been sent home. | |
| That plan does not make clear, though, what the I.R.S. will do as the shutdown extends into January. (Tax filing season is about to begin, and the agency will no doubt face plenty of questions from taxpayers over the recent tax law changes.) | |
| [President Trump remained silent on the plight of federal workers.] | |
| The agency, which did not respond to a request for comment because its press office is closed, may bring in more workers to prepare for tax season, but it generally does not answer taxpayer questions or pay tax refunds during a shutdown, according to The Wall Street Journal. If the shutdown ends within a few weeks, it is unlikely to seriously affect most taxpayers. | |
| Fear not, older Americans: The Social Security checks are still coming. (And the Postal Service will still deliver them.) | |
| That’s because the Social Security Administration already received funding for the 2019 fiscal year, in September, according to Mark Hinkle, an agency spokesman. | That’s because the Social Security Administration already received funding for the 2019 fiscal year, in September, according to Mark Hinkle, an agency spokesman. |
| “Social Security services and offices will remain fully operational, and Social Security benefits will be paid on time,” he said in an emailed statement. | “Social Security services and offices will remain fully operational, and Social Security benefits will be paid on time,” he said in an emailed statement. |
| [Read more on how power dynamics may shift in the newly divided Congress.] | [Read more on how power dynamics may shift in the newly divided Congress.] |
| Medicare and Medicaid are also unaffected. | |
| The group of government employees working without pay includes tens of thousands of law enforcement personnel at the F.B.I., the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Prisons, Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and more, according to Representative Steny H. Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House. | The group of government employees working without pay includes tens of thousands of law enforcement personnel at the F.B.I., the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Prisons, Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and more, according to Representative Steny H. Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House. |
| Border Patrol and Transportation Security Administration agents will continue to work without pay, as well. | Border Patrol and Transportation Security Administration agents will continue to work without pay, as well. |
| At Justice and Homeland Security, about 85 percent of employees are still working, though that is not true for every agency affected by the shutdown. For example, a vast majority of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s approximately 7,500 employees are not. | |
| The shutdown has had mixed effects on government investigations. | The shutdown has had mixed effects on government investigations. |
| F.B.I. investigations will continue because, according to the Justice Department’s shutdown plan, “all operations of the F.B.I. are directed toward national security and investigations of violations of law involving protection of life and property.” | |
| The office of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, will also continue its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election because it does not rely on congressional action for funding. | The office of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, will also continue its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election because it does not rely on congressional action for funding. |
| At the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, some investigations are unaffected by the shutdown, but some investigative work will be discontinued until funding is restored. | At the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, some investigations are unaffected by the shutdown, but some investigative work will be discontinued until funding is restored. |
| As the shutdown began to take hold before Christmas, Robert L. Wilkie, the secretary of veterans affairs, said in a statement that his department would be unaffected because it was fully funded through the 2019 fiscal year. | As the shutdown began to take hold before Christmas, Robert L. Wilkie, the secretary of veterans affairs, said in a statement that his department would be unaffected because it was fully funded through the 2019 fiscal year. |
| “We thank the president and Congress for their commitment to our nation’s heroes in funding V.A., and stand ready to provide all of the V.A. benefits and services our Veterans have earned,” he said. | “We thank the president and Congress for their commitment to our nation’s heroes in funding V.A., and stand ready to provide all of the V.A. benefits and services our Veterans have earned,” he said. |
| The 40 million or so people who receive food stamps will still get the benefit for January, according to the Agriculture Department, which administers the program. Other aid programs focused on child nutrition, including school lunch and breakfast programs, will also continue operating into February, the department said. | The 40 million or so people who receive food stamps will still get the benefit for January, according to the Agriculture Department, which administers the program. Other aid programs focused on child nutrition, including school lunch and breakfast programs, will also continue operating into February, the department said. |
| Food assistance programs for women, children and infants and for people on Native American reservations can continue to operate at the state and local levels, depending on what funding remains, but federal funds will not support those programs until the shutdown ends, the department said. | Food assistance programs for women, children and infants and for people on Native American reservations can continue to operate at the state and local levels, depending on what funding remains, but federal funds will not support those programs until the shutdown ends, the department said. |
| [Here’s how the shutdown leaves food, medicine and pay in doubt for Native Americans.] | [Here’s how the shutdown leaves food, medicine and pay in doubt for Native Americans.] |
| Inspections of meat, poultry, eggs, grain and other commodities will continue, too, it said. | Inspections of meat, poultry, eggs, grain and other commodities will continue, too, it said. |
| The Violence Against Women Act expired last month when the government shut down. First passed in 1994, the act helps survivors of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault with programs administered through the Justice Department and the Health and Human Services Department. | The Violence Against Women Act expired last month when the government shut down. First passed in 1994, the act helps survivors of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault with programs administered through the Justice Department and the Health and Human Services Department. |
| Those programs were already awarded grants, but grant payments will be delayed because the Justice Department was affected by the shutdown. Once funding is restored, the department will process payment requests filed after Dec. 26. | |
| law. | |
| “Local programs have other sources of funds,” said Monica McLaughlin, the director of public policy at the National Network to End Domestic Violence. “But when they are in a situation where they’ve done the work that is federally funded and they aren’t able to reimburse for it, it certainly puts them in a financial bind and can be detrimental to the programs for sure.” | “Local programs have other sources of funds,” said Monica McLaughlin, the director of public policy at the National Network to End Domestic Violence. “But when they are in a situation where they’ve done the work that is federally funded and they aren’t able to reimburse for it, it certainly puts them in a financial bind and can be detrimental to the programs for sure.” |
| Those who are doing lifesaving work will continue to help survivors, she said, but may not be reimbursed depending on how long the shutdown lasts. | Those who are doing lifesaving work will continue to help survivors, she said, but may not be reimbursed depending on how long the shutdown lasts. |
| “It’s hard to know what the actual impact will be,” Ms. McLaughlin said. “But I know it’s anxiety-producing at the least.” | “It’s hard to know what the actual impact will be,” Ms. McLaughlin said. “But I know it’s anxiety-producing at the least.” |