WYOMING, USA – Last Wednesday, Oct. 1, funding of the U.S. federal government shut down when the Senate was unable to pass a continuing financial resolution. While there are significant impacts from the shutdown – some that will be felt locally – many federal programs and services will continue in spite of lack of funding.
According to an estimation by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released on Sept. 30, the impact is dependent on the duration of the shutdown, as well as how the current Administration determines which executive branch employees are on the “exception” list, and which are to be furloughed.
The Trump Administration has indicated, “...[I]t might subject some employees, who might otherwise be furloughed, to a reduction in force. The Administration also could decide to use mandatory funding provided in the 2025 reconciliation act or other sources of mandatory funding to continue activities financed by those direct appropriations at various agencies, including the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In general, a longer lapse will have larger effects than a shorter one will,” the CBO stated, adding, “Once discretionary appropriations for the federal government are enacted after a lapse, current law requires employees to be paid at their regular rate of pay—whether they are excepted employees who work during a shutdown or others who have been furloughed.”
Approximately 750,000 people have been furloughed, but the number may change in a longer-term shutdown if agencies choose to recall some initially furloughed employees. Additionally, there may be a reduction in force of some agencies for certain projects or activities.
“Excepted” personnel are considered essential and continue to work, even without pay, including, but not limited to: active duty military, Transportation Security Administration and other Federal Aviation Association employees; Department of Interior law enforcement, emergency response workers, border and coastal protection and surveillance, fire suppression staff, and 97 percent of the Veterans Administration continue to work during the shutdown since it is funded largely by advance appropriations.
Social Security Administration (SSA), Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans Administration benefits will continue to be paid. The SSA stated on its website, “We will continue activities critical to our direct-service operations and those needed to ensure accurate and timely payment of benefits.”
Health and Human Services (HHS) stated on its official website, “HHS will use the authority under the Anti-deficiency Act (ADA) to maintain existing HHS activities... Over the duration of any lapse, HHS will continue to review its resources, authorities, and flexibilities under the law to minimize the impact of such a lapse on the safety of human life and the protection of property. HHS will rely on exceptions in the ADA to continue to protect human life and property, such as monitoring for disease outbreaks conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). HHS will also use exceptions in the ADA to retain staff in support funded activities, such as Medicare and other mandatory health program payments.
The U.S. Post Office will also continue its operations, since it is an independent entity that is funded by its products and services and is not reliant on tax dollars.
Several programs, such as Women Infants and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) will be impacted if there is a prolonged shutdown, or if individual states are unable to obtain other contingency funding while federal funds are in limbo.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will suspend operations and furlough employees with some exceptions, including emergencies where human safety and protection of property would be compromised, in some significant degree, by a delay in performance.
The USDA Farm Services Agency in Wheatland was also closed while its employees are on furlough during the federal government shutdown.
The Department of the Interior’s National Park Service will furlough employees at some operations, such as Fort Laramie National Historic Site in western Goshen County. In general, National Park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors. Parks with accessible areas that collect fees will utilize available retained recreation fees balances to provide basic visitor services to maintain restrooms and sanitation, road maintenance, campground operations, law enforcement and emergency operations, and staffing of entrance gates as necessary to provide critical safety information. Inaccessible parks will have no services provided. Any facility or area locked during non-business hours will be locked for the duration of the shutdown, and areas with sensitive natural, cultural, historic or archaeological resources vulnerable to destruction that cannot be adequately protected by the exempted law enforcement staff remaining on duty may be closed down at the direction of the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife.
Websites, social media, and media inquiries will not be maintained or responded to except for emergency communication.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement, quoting Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin: “Despite a lapse in funding, ICE will continue to remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens including rapists, pedophiles, murderers, gang members and terrorists from our country… [W]e will continue to hire, train, and deploy law enforcement across the country to make America safe again...”
Wyoming’s response
A press release from Wyoming governor’s Mark Gordon’s office stated the governor is monitoring the potential shutdown of the federal government and issuing protocols to state agencies. The release said Wyoming will continue to fund state employee positions that were partially or fully federally-funded; any gaps in funding the federal government’s commitment to state employees will be funded in the short term; and if the shutdown is “protracted,” the state will make decisions whether to suspend federally funded contracts and programs and/or furloughing federally funded state employees.
“Any state funds expended under federal obligation during the shutdown are expected, though not guaranteed, to be reimbursed by the federal government,” Drew Perkins, the governor’s chief of staff stated in a memorandum last week. “Wyoming is not unfamiliar with the impacts of gridlock in Washington DC, and as we live within our means, the State is well-prepared in the event of a federal government shutdown.”
Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) issued a statement after the shutdown went into effect.
“Chuck Schumer and his Democrat colleagues could have easily prevented a government shutdown by voting for a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution that had already passed the U.S. House of Representatives – the exact same bill they all supported 13 times when Democrats controlled the majority,” said Lummis.”Chuck Schumer is deliberately shutting down the government because his progressive base hates President Trump and wants to spend an extra $1.5 trillion on left-leaning demands. It’s time for Senate Democrats to stop these political games and join Republicans in doing the right thing for the American people by voting to keep our government and National Parks funded.”
U.S. Senate Majority Whip, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), spoke on the U.S. senate floor after the shutdown, pointing out three Democrats did vote with Republicans to keep the government open, and urged more Democrats to join them.
“Senate Democrats have now officially dragged our nation into a Schumer Shutdown. This shutdown did not have to happen, and it certainly does not need to continue,” Sen. Barrasso said. “Remember, it takes 60 votes in the senate to reopen the government. All we are asking for is to fund the government at current funding levels for the next seven weeks. Democrats supported these same funding levels before. Now, they claim those levels aren’t good enough. Democrats demand $1.5 trillion in new spending just to reopen the government for four short weeks. That is $48 billion of new, far-left liberal spending each and every day in the Democrats’ proposal. This is a direct attack on hard-working American taxpayers, who voted against wasteful Washington spending in November.”
“...Today, Senate Democrats face a clear choice. They can govern in the best interest of the American people or they can continue to grandstand for retweets and likes from their liberal base. Republicans are united in our commitment to reopen the government. How long that takes, and how costly it is, is entirely up to senate Democrats. A bipartisan offer is in front of the senate. It is time to pass it today and end this ‘Schumer Shutdown,’” Barrasso concluded.
