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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) | |
| This story is being updated throughout the shutdown. Updated Jan. 8. | |
| If it continues through Saturday, the partial shutdown of the federal government will have lasted three full weeks, making it the longest such shutdown on record. | If it continues through Saturday, the partial shutdown of the federal government will have lasted three full weeks, making it the longest such shutdown on record. |
| While some essential work, such as mail delivery and law enforcement, is still being performed, the shutdown has affected operations at nine departments, including Homeland Security, Justice, State and Treasury, and several agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and NASA. | While some essential work, such as mail delivery and law enforcement, is still being performed, the shutdown has affected operations at nine departments, including Homeland Security, Justice, State and Treasury, and several agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and NASA. |
| Much work has ground to a halt and about 800,000 government workers are living without pay. Slightly more than half are still working, while the rest have been furloughed. Those who work will most likely be compensated later, but the workers who were sent home have no such expectation. | Much work has ground to a halt and about 800,000 government workers are living without pay. Slightly more than half are still working, while the rest have been furloughed. Those who work will most likely be compensated later, but the workers who were sent home have no such expectation. |
| [For some, the shutdown isn’t about politics. It’s about bills and groceries.] | |
| Here’s a brief look at some of the government functions that have been affected by the shutdown, and some that haven’t. | Here’s a brief look at some of the government functions that have been affected by the shutdown, and some that haven’t. |
| Since the shutdown began, Transportation Security Administration workers, many of them responsible for screening passengers and baggage, have been calling out sick in increased numbers at airports across the country. | Since the shutdown began, Transportation Security Administration workers, many of them responsible for screening passengers and baggage, have been calling out sick in increased numbers at airports across the country. |
| Last week, a federal official who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity said that the call-outs seemed to be a coordinated protest, but union officials said that many workers were most likely just looking for work elsewhere to cover for missed wages. A T.S.A. spokesman downplayed the disruption. | Last week, a federal official who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity said that the call-outs seemed to be a coordinated protest, but union officials said that many workers were most likely just looking for work elsewhere to cover for missed wages. A T.S.A. spokesman downplayed the disruption. |
| [Government workers feel like “pawns” in a political chess game.] | [Government workers feel like “pawns” in a political chess game.] |
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| Many national parks are closed to visitors. And while some remain open with limited staffing or are open thanks to help from states, the National Park Service has warned that “access may change without notice.” | Many national parks are closed to visitors. And while some remain open with limited staffing or are open thanks to help from states, the National Park Service has warned that “access may change without notice.” |
| Joshua Tree National Park, for example, remained open after the shutdown, but closed last week because officials could not clean bathrooms fast enough and visitors were damaging the park. | Joshua Tree National Park, for example, remained open after the shutdown, but closed last week because officials could not clean bathrooms fast enough and visitors were damaging the park. |
| Limited staffing has also raised questions about visitor safety, with at least three people having died on National Park Service lands since the shutdown began. | Limited staffing has also raised questions about visitor safety, with at least three people having died on National Park Service lands since the shutdown began. |
| The announcement of at least one of those deaths — a man who fell into a river in Yosemite National Park — was reportedly delayed because of the continuing shutdown, a park spokesman told Outside Magazine last week. | The announcement of at least one of those deaths — a man who fell into a river in Yosemite National Park — was reportedly delayed because of the continuing shutdown, a park spokesman told Outside Magazine last week. |
| Museums have been affected, too. The National Gallery of Art, all 19 Smithsonian museums, and the National Zoo were closed last week because of the shutdown. (“Essential personnel” remain on hand at the zoo to care for the animals.) | Museums have been affected, too. The National Gallery of Art, all 19 Smithsonian museums, and the National Zoo were closed last week because of the shutdown. (“Essential personnel” remain on hand at the zoo to care for the animals.) |
| [Read more on how parks and museums are affected by the shutdown.] | [Read more on how parks and museums are affected by the shutdown.] |
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| The scientific community has been affected, too. Some government labs are empty, with scientists having been sent home. Research, some of it time sensitive, has been disrupted. And the flow of grant money may be interrupted, too. | The scientific community has been affected, too. Some government labs are empty, with scientists having been sent home. Research, some of it time sensitive, has been disrupted. And the flow of grant money may be interrupted, too. |
| Some agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, are largely or entirely unaffected. But others, such as the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service, have sent many workers home. | Some agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, are largely or entirely unaffected. But others, such as the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service, have sent many workers home. |
| [Read more about the shutdown’s toll on science and research.] | [Read more about the shutdown’s toll on science and research.] |
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| Fear not, older Americans: The Social Security checks are still coming. (And the Postal Service will still deliver them.) | 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 received funding for the 2019 fiscal year back in September, according to Mark Hinkle, an agency spokesman. | That’s because the Social Security Administration received funding for the 2019 fiscal year back 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. |
| Medicare, Medicaid and veterans benefits are similarly unaffected. | Medicare, Medicaid and veterans benefits are similarly unaffected. |
| [Fact Check: President Trump has told a number of falsehoods about the shutdown.] | [Fact Check: President Trump has told a number of falsehoods about the shutdown.] |
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| Tens of thousands of law enforcement personnel are among those working without pay. | Tens of thousands of law enforcement personnel are among those working without pay. |
| That includes workers 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. | That includes workers 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. |
| But the shutdown has nonetheless affected the criminal justice system. Federal court proceedings have slowed as government lawyers ask for delays and federal district courts remain open though their funding remains in doubt. | But the shutdown has nonetheless affected the criminal justice system. Federal court proceedings have slowed as government lawyers ask for delays and federal district courts remain open though their funding remains in doubt. |
| Already backlogged, most immigration courts are closed because of the shutdown, leading to long delays in deportations. | Already backlogged, most immigration courts are closed because of the shutdown, leading to long delays in deportations. |
| “That is the irony of this shutdown,” Judge Amiena Khan, the executive vice president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, the judges’ union, told The Times. “The impact is most acutely felt in immigration courts and proceedings where cases will not be going forward.” | “That is the irony of this shutdown,” Judge Amiena Khan, the executive vice president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, the judges’ union, told The Times. “The impact is most acutely felt in immigration courts and proceedings where cases will not be going forward.” |
| [How the shutdown could turn a day in court into a four-year wait.] | [How the shutdown could turn a day in court into a four-year wait.] |
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| The shutdown has had mixed effects on government investigations. | The shutdown has had mixed effects on government investigations. |
| F.B.I. investigations will continue, according to the Justice Department’s shutdown plan, because “all operations of the F.B.I. are directed toward national security and investigations of violations of law involving protection of life and property.” | F.B.I. investigations will continue, according to the Justice Department’s shutdown plan, because “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, though, all but 6 percent of the agency’s approximately 4,400 employees have been sent home, according to a contingency plan. That limited staff will handle emergency enforcement, but much investigative work is not being done. | At the Securities and Exchange Commission, though, all but 6 percent of the agency’s approximately 4,400 employees have been sent home, according to a contingency plan. That limited staff will handle emergency enforcement, but much investigative work is not being done. |
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| When the shutdown began, most I.R.S. operations stopped, with just about 12 percent of the agency’s nearly 80,000 employees reporting to work, according to a contingency plan. That plan, which covered the end of last year, did not make clear what the I.R.S. would do in 2019. | |
| On Monday, the Trump administration said it would put many of the employees back to work without pay until the shutdown ends to ensure the distribution of tax refunds. But some questioned whether the White House had the authority to do so. | |
| [What the shutdown would look like if it happened in other industries.] | [What the shutdown would look like if it happened in other industries.] |
| With tax filing season about to begin, the agency will no doubt face plenty of questions from taxpayers over the recent changes to tax law. | |
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| The 40 million or so people who receive food stamps will still receive the benefit for January, according to the Agriculture Department, which administers the program. Other 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 receive the benefit for January, according to the Agriculture Department, which administers the program. Other 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 level, depending on what funding remains, but federal funding for those programs is suspended 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 level, depending on what funding remains, but federal funding for those programs is suspended until the shutdown ends, the department said. |
| 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. |
| [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.] |
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| The Violence Against Women Act, which funds programs for survivors of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault, expired last month when the government shut down. | The Violence Against Women Act, which funds programs for survivors of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault, expired last month when the government shut down. |
| The Justice Department already awarded grants to those programs for the 2019 fiscal year, but its payment system was affected by the shutdown. As a result, requests for grant payments filed after Dec. 26 are on hold during the shutdown. | The Justice Department already awarded grants to those programs for the 2019 fiscal year, but its payment system was affected by the shutdown. As a result, requests for grant payments filed after Dec. 26 are on hold during the shutdown. |
| “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.” | “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.” |