The Effects of the Gov't Shutdown 2+ Weeks

[Shane for Wax]

[I felt this could be its own thread. If the mods disagree, as usual they are welcome to merge.]

Here is the updated list of everything that is affected going into this week of closure:

Travelt

Along with national parks opening on a state-by-state basis, the fish and wildlife service said it is reopening several refuges to allow pheasant and duck hunting, as the hunting season gets under way.

More than 2,900 Federal Aviation Administration inspectors were initially furloughed, putting an end to inspections of plane, pilot and aircraft repair stations. The FAA asked 800 employees to return to work last week.

The courts

Federal courts have sufficient alternative funds to run until Thursday, and possibly Friday. From then on, courts will shut down all non-essential work. It is up to each court to determine what is or isn't essential. Court-appointed lawyers and jurors could be asked to work, but might not be compensated until the shutdown ends.

Some districts have requested a blanket halt to civilian cases because agencies involved with these cases have been furloughed. Attorneys have had to file stay requests for cases that have approaching deadlines.

Immigration court proceedings scheduled before the shutdown are being canceled, impeding green card applications.

The US supreme court says it will continue with normal operations through Friday, and its building is still open to the public as usual. If Congress does not resolve its issues by that date, the court will provide another update.

Energy

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission closed most of its operations on Thursday, though on-site inspectors will remain on the job and the government says it will handle any immediate safety or security issues.

Education

The school systems continues to operate, though some research facilities cannot apply for government grants or access government databases. The US merchant marine academy canceled classes this week because unlike other academic institutions, nearly its entire staff is subject to furlough.

A Texas couple donated $10m to the Head Start pre-school program for children in low income families, which was shut down. The money is considered a no-interest loan and will be repaid if funding is restored at the end of the shutdown. (The loan has been criticised by some on the left, because it comes from John Arnold, a former Enron trader.)

Five states had to close their Head Start programs, while other states relied on contingency funding. The donated funds are directed at these closed programs and programs close to running out of money. On 1 November, 41 states and one US territory could lose federal money for the program.

Food programs

States have been relying on contingency funds to cover the WIC program, which provides healthy food to 9 million low-income pregnant women, new mothers and children. The USDA warned that this funding might not last after October and some state programs have temporarily shut down, then reopened with emergency cash.

Military

Military personnel remain on duty and nearly all civilian employees have been ordered back to work. President Obama signed an order on Thursday to ensure families of fallen soldiers will continue to receive death payments, which were suspended in the early days of the shutdown.

Social security

The government traditionally announces the annual cost-of-living (Cola) increase for next year's social security payments in mid-October. Because of the shutdown, that announcement – estimated to be about 1.5%, the smallest in years – has been delayed indefinitely.

Science

Funds for the National Science Foundation's US Antarctic program will be depleted on Monday, the agency announced last week. The USAP is entering "caretaker status," which staffs the program at a minimal level at its three primary research stations, ships and other associated facilities. Some of the research operates in specific seasonal windows because of Antarctic's harsh climate, and could be indefinitely curtailed depending on the length of the shutdown. October is usually when research programs ramp up their activities in Antarctica.

Taxes

The more than 12 million people who requested automatic extensions on their spring tax return must still file their returns, which are due on Tuesday.

Source
---------------------------------------------

I know a few of these things affect the people here just as it also affects me.

[Witchyjoshy]

Come on, Congress, get your gear together.

[largeham]

To science we should add large chunks of NASA have been shut down.

But hey, the cops and military are still getting their funding. How many drones have been grounded?

[Shane for Wax]

I said updated list for a reason,  I figured most people had already seen my original list of what the shutdown has done.

[Osama bin Bambi]

To science we should add large chunks of NASA have been shut down.

But hey, the cops and military are still getting their funding. How many drones have been grounded?

None, duh! Bombing other people's children is way more important than feeding our own!

[Id82]

Any Libertarian assholes bitching about how certain government programs aren't there for them while ironically not realizing it was a government program because they think the government doesn't do anything good for them ever?

[kefkaownsall]

Its effecting everyone like my dad's office can't get paid since no one is on the other line to process

[Shane for Wax]

NASA is back.

http://www.nasa.gov/index.html

[Vypernight]

We just got back from St. Augustine, where the forst has been closed due to the shutdown.  This may not seem like much, but from what people there were saying, it not only put people out of work, but created a ripple effect.  The closing of the fort hurt tourism in the area which also hurt local businesses.  Granted the town wasn't suffering as a whole, but it seemed a lot of people were having problems because of it.

for the record, no one was blaming anyone in the government, at least verbally, but you could tell they weren't happy.

[Shane for Wax]

That's entirely correct. It has had a ripple effect. Even if you aren't connected to the military or the government that pays it, you are going to be effected in some way either now or sometime down the line.

[kefkaownsall]

I actually come to the conclusion that the executive and legislature can't be different parties

[dpareja]

I actually come to the conclusion that the executive and legislature can't be different parties

Yeah, that's a recipe for tons of gridlock. Like in Westminster parliamentary democracies when there's a minority government.