What to Expect if the Federal Government Shuts Down

What to Expect From a Federal Government Shutdown

The Federal government's current fiscal year ends this Saturday, September 30. If Congress does not pass an authorization to spend money, most of the federal government will shut down. How will the homeless community be affected? Unfortunately, the situation is chaotic and unpredictable, but we can summarize what might happen and how people might prepare.

First, while it appears that a federal government shutdown is almost certain, no one really knows. It is possible that Congress will agree on a temporary authorization while it works out it's disagreements on spending for the entire year.

Second, if there is a shutdown, it may not last long enough to cause significant problems. In the past, shutdowns have lasted between four hours and thirty five days. Again, the situation is chaotic and unpredictable and impossible to predict.

If the US government does shut down, agencies will depend on unspent funds and money collected from fees. They will try to make their funds last by furloughing those considered "non-essential", about 1/2 of the federal workforce. After agency funds run out, "essential" workers will continue working but without pay. All federal employees will be paid lost wages when the shutdown ends.

Some of the largest expected effects:

- Social Security and Medicare checks will continue to be sent, but any customer service may require long wait times.

- WIC funds are only expected to last a few days. I've seen no announcement about whether or not the state of California will continue the program with state funds after that.

- SNAP funds are expected to last about one month.

- It's not clear how long federally funded school programs - like Head Start and some child care programs - will continue. The longer a shutdown lasts, the more such programs will be impacted.

- Federally funded housing programs, such as housing vouchers, are expected to continue for at least a few months.

There's little any of us can do stop a shutdown. We can apply pressure on Congress by calling our representatives and telling them not to shut down low-income assistance programs like WIC and SNAP. (Find your representatives here: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative .)We know that families experiencing homelessness have often left problematic living arrangements with family or friends, but if possible, this may be a good time to reach out to explore what kind of help you might be able to get from family during a shutdown.

If you have friends or family that are homeless, please reach out to them if you can to let them know how you can help during a shutdown.

The best scenario, of course, is for the shutdown not to happen at all ...

A couple of resources with more details about what to expect:

https://endhomelessness.org/blog/potential-government-shutdown-what-you-need-to-know/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/09/26/what-would-a-federal-government-shutdown-mean-for-you-and-your-city/70964012007/

[submitted by Mike Cushing]

Family Promise Grad: "This is my best life.”

Here's a nice story in USA Today about one of our Family Promise Sacramento families that was given a refurbished car in a surprise presentation last Thursday morning. It's great to work with this organization and witness so many people pitching in to help get families back on their feet. Thank you to Traveler's Insurance for donating the car, to Caliber Collision for all the hours spent refurbishing it, and the Recycled Rides program of the National Auto Body Council that coordinates these donations. And Congratulations to Isaac!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/humankind/2023/09/27/california-dad-bike-car-16-miles/70978920007/?fbclid=IwAR1ILdIAvw5mS9eHab32hBi4FnCBjOHrpL9zRTEKLZHYEr4j-nl8rnSAv-w

Local TV stations were also there and reported on the occasion:

ABC 10: https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/roseville-single-father-gifted-car/103-f51e30e8-97e1-4c92-bb73-448f8c4a2d08

CBS 13: https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/sacramento-father-of-six-surprised-with-free-car-after-biking-miles-to-work-for-months/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h

Fox 40: https://fox40.com/news/local-news/roseville/single-father-of-six-receives-new-car-after-biking-to-work-for-months/

What if we actually fully funded and used all federal anti-poverty program benefits?

[Note: If you're not familiar with the acronyms or federal programs they represent, see the table on page 8 of the Urban Institute report.]

In today's (Friday, September 22, 2023) Sacramento Bee is an interesting editorial, "America's Safety Net Isn't Working", from the editors of Bloomberg Opinion. (If you can't access the Bee, there's a publication free with ads at The Richmond Times-Dispatch.) It basically presents the findings of a study published at the Urban Institute last month: "A Safety Net with 100 Percent Participation: How Much Would Benefits Increase and Poverty Decline?" The study uses a modeling tool to predict what would happen if Congress fully funded US anti-poverty programs (SSI, SNAP, WIC, housing programs, and more) and if all those eligible used their benefits. They conclude that benefits people receive would more than double, that the overall poverty rate would drop by 1/3 (from ~15% to ~10%) and that the child poverty rate would be cut almost in half (from 15% to 8 1/2 %). The study's project page (if you don't care to read the 49 page report) lets you view conclusions by state. The California report shows first of all that about 20% of available SSI and SNAP benefits are not being claimed by eligible recipients. The reductions in overall poverty and child poverty rates is much larger than the national numbers, above.

So why aren't we using all this additional money? It's important to understand what this study is predicting. According to the study, only SSI and SNAP are "entitlements", meaning that eligible people have a right to these benefits and funds are allocated for all who meet the criteria. In other words, no one will be told "Sorry, we can't give you any SNAP food assistance this month because we've run out of money." Urban Institute reports that WIC is like an entitlement because adequate funds have been allocated every year to pay the benefits to everyone who is eligible. Other programs like housing subsidies, child-care subsidies, energy assistance are funded but to a dollar amount that could not provide the benefits to all those eligible. So people can receive these benefits until that year's funds run out. Why aren't these programs fully funded? Political persuasion undoubtedly plays a big role, but the Bloomberg editorial claims over a trillion dollars of US federal spending goes to anti-poverty programs already, so cost is also an important factor.

It's also important to note that lack of funds is not the only reason people don't use benefits, also explained in the report. For instance, someone may have a section 8 voucher for housing assistance, but if the family cannot find affordable housing that meets their need AND whose landlord is willing to accept section 8 vouchers, then the benefit will not be used. A parent working night shifts may not be able to find a child care provider during the night who also accepts CCDF payments. Additionally, people may feel the amount of their benefit is not worth the restrictions that come with it. Or don't want to use benefits because of a perceived negative stigma. Etc. So the study's scenario of fully funded programs and 100% participation by those eligible is not practical, but is rather the best-case possibility. Still, the present data and predicted effects for various scenarios, and by state, are important to consider.

[submitted by Mike Cushing]