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From Social Security to national parks: Here’s how a shutdown could affect Iowans
The federal government will shut down early Wednesday morning if Congress cannot come to an agreement on a budget standoff
Sep. 30, 2025 5:11 pm
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A partisan standoff over health care and spending has pushed the federal government to the brink of its first shutdown in nearly seven years.
If lawmakers fail to act, the government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. The House has passed a temporary seven-week funding bill, but Senate Democrats say they will block it unless Republicans agree to extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits. The credits, expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, help millions of low- and middle-income Americans afford health insurance and are set to expire at the end of the year.
Republicans, led by President Donald Trump, insist on a “clean” spending bill without additional policy measures. The impasse threatens to furlough hundreds of thousands of federal workers, close national parks, delay benefits and disrupt daily life across the country.
The White House has also threatened to fire federal workers in a shutdown.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, responding to a request from Iowa GOP U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst for an assessment on the cost of a shutdown, estimated Tuesday that a government shutdown would lead to the furlough of about 750,000 federal employees. The "total daily cost of their compensation would be roughly $400 million,“ the CBO said. ”The number of furloughed employees could vary by the day because some agencies might furlough more employees the longer a shutdown persists and others might recall some initially furloughed employees.”
Here’s a guide to what Iowans — and Americans more broadly — can expect if a partial shutdown occurs.
What government operations are essential during a shutdown?
Most federal employees cannot work without appropriations, according to the Office of Management and Budget. But exceptions exist for activities that protect human life and property or are otherwise required by law.
That means military operations, law enforcement, emergency response, border security, air traffic control, power grid maintenance, and disaster response will continue. Agencies also can carry out limited “orderly shutdown” tasks, like securing property or processing final payrolls.
Programs funded through user fees or mandatory spending — such as passport fees, Medicare, and Social Security — generally continue, though support services may be curtailed.
What happens to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?
Checks will still go out. These programs are funded through permanent appropriations and trust funds, not the annual spending bills currently at issue.
But customer service could take a hit. Past shutdowns have forced the Social Security Administration to furlough thousands of employees, creating delays in replacing benefit cards, processing claims, or handling appeals. Medicare and Medicaid benefits continue, though new enrollments or support operations could slow.
Will SNAP be affected? What about WIC?
SNAP recipients are expected to receive their October benefits even if the government shuts down, since states already obligated funds to load electronic benefit cards in September. But advocates warn that if the shutdown drags on, November payments could be delayed or interrupted, depending on how long USDA can rely on contingency reserves and whether states meet processing deadlines, according to The Food Research and Action Center.
The outlook is more precarious for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Because WIC is funded through annual appropriations, it would receive no new funding during a shutdown. Federal contingency funds could sustain benefits only briefly, after which states would have to rely on limited carryover funds, according to the National Association of Counties. Any disruption would jeopardize nutrition support for low-income mothers, infants and young children.
How could flights and travel be impacted?
Air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners are deemed essential and will continue working — but without pay until the shutdown ends.
During the 2018-19 shutdown, unpaid TSA officers called in sick at higher rates, causing longer security lines at some airports. Federal Aviation Administration inspections and training also could be delayed, raising concerns about air travel safety if a shutdown drags on.
Will federal court cases continue?
The U.S. Department of Justice says most of its law-enforcement and national-security work would continue during a lapse in funding. The DOJ’s contingency plan projects 102,291 employees — about 89 percent of its 115,131 workforce — would be “excepted” from furlough.
Criminal investigations and prosecutions would proceed without interruption, as would extraditions. The FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Prisons would keep operating to maintain public safety and inmate custody.
Civil litigation would largely be postponed unless a court orders a case to continue or a delay would significantly risk life or property.
Most training and new employee onboarding would pause unless directly tied to emergency functions.
The DOJ notes it can adjust staffing during the lapse — calling employees back or furloughing others — as conditions change.
Would mail services slow down?
No. The U.S. Postal Service operates as an independent entity that is generally funded through postage and the sale of products and services, not annual appropriations. All Post Offices will remain open for business as usual, and mail delivery will continue as normal, according to USPS.
What about VA health care and benefits?
The Department of Veterans Affairs says veterans’ health care and benefits would not be interrupted if the government shuts down. VA hospitals, outpatient clinics and Vet Centers would remain open, and compensation, pension, education and housing benefits would still be processed. Burials at national cemeteries would continue, along with decisions by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.
But some services would pause. Regional benefits offices, the GI Bill hotline, and career counseling and transition programs would close. The VA also would stop placing new headstones, maintaining cemetery grounds, processing pre-need burial applications, and printing presidential memorial certificates.
VA Contact Centers (1-800-MyVA411) and the Veterans Crisis Line (Dial 988, Press 1) would remain available 24/7.
What happens to immigration enforcement and immigration courts?
Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Coast Guard will continue core law enforcement and border operations. Immigration detention and deportations will not stop.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which processes applications for green cards, naturalization and visas, is largely fee-funded and can keep running. But immigration courts, which depend on appropriations, may suspend hearings for non-detained cases, adding to already severe backlogs.
Will national parks properties shut down?
Potentially. If the government shuts down, most national park sites could close or operate with severely reduced services. Sites that can be physically accessed — such as roads, trails, campgrounds and open-air memorials — would remain open, but visitors would find no regular staffing, updates or visitor services.
Trash collection, restroom cleaning, road maintenance and emergency response would continue only at a minimal level, using limited recreation fee funds.
Facilities that are normally locked or gated, including visitor centers and parking lots, would remain closed for the duration of the lapse. Park websites and social media accounts would not be updated. Signs would notify visitors that services and maintenance are suspended until funding is restored.
Do federal employees get back pay after a shutdown ends?
Yes. In 2019, Congress passed — and the president signed — a law requiring that all furloughed federal workers receive back pay once a shutdown ends. That law remains in effect. Employees will eventually be made whole, though paychecks may be delayed.
Will members of Congress continue to be paid?
Yes. Members of Congress are paid through mandatory appropriations that are not subject to the annual funding fight. Iowa’s all-Republican U.S. House members, however, have asked that their congressional pay be withheld in the event of a lapse in government funding.
Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Ashley Hinson, Zach Nunn and Randy Feenstra sent letters to the Chief Administrative Officer of the House requesting their pay be withheld until full government funding is restored.
"If federal employees, service members, and families across Iowa are forced to shoulder the burden of a shutdown, Members of Congress should not be exempt. Iowans expect accountability, responsibility, and leadership, not politics as usual,“ Miller-Meeks wrote.
Nunn criticized Senate Democrats for rejecting a House-passed temporary spending bill that would extend funding through Nov. 21.
Nunn warned that without an agreement, the shutdown could halt pay for more than 15,000 Iowa service members and Defense Department employees, lead to processing delays for more than 330,000 Iowans who rely on nutrition assistance should a shutdown drag on, and suspend new loans for farmers and small businesses, and slow down processing of new claims and appeals for Iowa veterans.
Republicans argue their short-term stopgap funding bill is a straightforward path to avoid a shutdown and prevent harmful disruptions to vital services and national security. They said the temporary extension allows more time to negotiate full-year appropriations bills through regular order, rather than under the pressure of a deadline, and asserts Democrats are using partisan policy “riders” — such as extending enhanced health care subsidies and reversing Republican budget cuts — to hold the government hostage.
Democrats contend they are trying to stave off a looming health care "crisis." Their budget proposal seeks to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, and roll back Medicaid cuts in the tax cut and domestic policy law signed by Trump in July.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
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