Federal Government Shuts Down Over Funding Fight

The federal government shutdown entered day two after Congress failed to pass funding by the Sept. 30 deadline amid a partisan fight over extending temporary Affordable Care Act subsidies and other policy riders. Roughly 750,000 federal workers have been furloughed while many essential employees — including air-traffic controllers and TSA screeners — continue to work without pay; some agencies such as the FAA, defense and NASA civilian employees face large furloughs. Services nationwide are disrupted: offices across South Carolina and other states are closed or operating at reduced capacity, and national parks and cultural sites are being kept open through contingency plans, nonprofits and unpaid local staff even as visitor centers, law enforcement and maintenance have been curtailed. The National Weather Service remains staffed but officials with SECOORA warned that disrupted data feeds could degrade hurricane and marine forecasting, and the FAA faces extra strain amid an existing shortfall of roughly 3,000 air-traffic controllers, raising the prospect of travel delays even as DHS says ports of entry and most border operations remain staffed. Social Security and Medicare payments remain funded, while SNAP benefits will continue only until available funding runs out, and economic advisers warned a multi-week shutdown could shave roughly $15 billion from GDP and deepen hardship for workers and businesses.