How expert says a potential government shutdown will or won’t impact you

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — If the government shutdown happens, it would start on Oct. 1, but agencies already have their contingency plans. The Library of Congress sent out an email Monday afternoon warning it will cancel all events and close, and NASA has a website dedicated to providing info about how it will handle a potential government shutdown.

A shutdown this week would be the 21st shutdown since 1977. The last time was in 2018, and it lasted a record 35 days.

It could mean slower processing of government-backed home loans, delays in the federal justice system, slower inspections at ports, and slower responses from agencies like the IRS. But for most people, you might not notice the impact initially at all.

John Diamond is the director of the Center for Tax and Budget Policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute.

“This is just a symptom of not being able to pass a budget in the normal budget process,” Diamond said. “There are reasons to be concerned, but it’s not ‘the sky is falling.’ In some sense, it’s not really going to interfere with your life that much.”

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You will still get your mail. Social security payments will come on time. VA hospitals will remain open, and air travel should remain unaffected.

But there will be thousands of furloughs of government workers across the country, including in southeast Texas. That means employees placed on leave without pay — there could be layoffs — and with a prolonged shutdown, food benefits for low-income families could become problematic.

All of this is still somewhat speculative based on past shutdowns. And there is still a shrinking but open window for Congress to come to some sort of agreement that averts the shutdown altogether.

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