Government shutdown: What happens if Congress doesn’t pass the funding bill by Friday evening?

CNN
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Facing intense pressure that the federal government may shut down within days and with disaster relief coffers needing to be replenished, lawmakers are trying to cobble together a temporary funding plan for the government after President-elect Donald Trump released their final package on Wednesday torpedoed.

The now-defunct deal would have kept the federal government running through March 14 and also provided nearly $100 billion in disaster relief and economic aid to farmers in rural communities. The deal also would have given lawmakers their first pay raise since 2009.

Here’s what Americans could soon face if Congress doesn’t reach an agreement by midnight Friday:

Help for disasters and farmers

The bipartisan agreement struck earlier this week would have provided nearly $100 billion to help Americans recover from multiple natural disasters in 2023 and 2024.

Every state in the country should receive a share of the funds. States like North Carolina and Florida, which were hit hard by Hurricanes Helene and Milton earlier this year, were set to receive the largest amount of funding, according to a breakdown from Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

About $29 billion would help replenish the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, which has shrunk because of the two hurricanes and other disasters.

The package also included $21 billion in disaster relief for farmers – a major sticking point in negotiations earlier this week. Lawmakers from agriculture-focused states have argued that the aid is urgently needed as American farmers face lower commodity prices and higher costs of supply.

The spending deal would also result in an extension of the farm bill — a comprehensive package that governs many agricultural and food assistance programs. Normally the bill is renewed every five years, but the last version was passed in 2018 and the extension expired at the end of September.

Lawmakers have until midnight Friday to fund the federal government — at least temporarily — to prevent a shutdown. Since Congress has not authorized funding for any agency, all would be affected.

The White House Office of Management and Budget is sending federal agencies additional guidance on shutdown preparations, an administration official told CNN.

Each department and agency has its own plans and procedures for a closure. The plans include how many employees would be furloughed, which employees would be considered essential and work without pay, how long it would take to suspend operations in the hours before a shutdown and which activities would come to a halt. These plans may vary from closure to closure.

The impact of a shutdown is different every time, but the consequences could be felt early. About 875,000 civilian federal employees will be furloughed, while another 1.4 million employees are deemed essential and must continue working — most of them without pay, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, which examined data from September. (They will receive their missed paychecks once the impasse ends.)

“A government shutdown would be a devastating blow to hardworking federal employees and the millions of citizens who rely on essential government services,” said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 800,000 civilian federal employees.

“These patriotic public servants are the backbone of our nation – controlling our food, protecting our borders, ensuring safe travel during the holidays and providing assistance to disaster victims,” Kelley continued. “Over 642,000 of them are veterans of our armed forces. Allowing them to go without a paycheck over the holidays is unacceptable.”

Federal workers are “shocked” by the sudden threat of a shutdown, said Doreen Greenwald, national president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents 150,000 workers in three dozen federal agencies and offices. But the step would also have more far-reaching consequences.

“Shutdowns waste taxpayer dollars, hurt the economy, and jeopardize the paychecks and essential services that hardworking Americans and their families rely on every day,” Greenwald said.

Previous shutdowns have resulted in the closure of national parks and museums, wreaking havoc on the Internal Revenue Service just before tax-filing season begins and delays in the issuance of some federal loans to homebuyers and small businesses, among other things. Although air traffic controllers are still required to be on duty, many called in sick during the recent shutdown, leading to crippled flights.

However, some agencies may continue certain operations from other funding sources – and continue to pay their employees.

Additionally, some essential government functions will continue even if the government is shut down. Specifically, Social Security recipients would receive their monthly payments and Medicare and Medicaid benefits would continue.

Government agencies had to prepare for a shutdown multiple times last fiscal year as Congress repeatedly insisted on approving a full funding plan before finally passing one in March.

During his first term, Trump experienced the longest government shutdown in four decades. The 35-day shutdown that brought part of the government to a standstill just before Christmas 2018 ended in late January when Trump agreed to a temporary funding measure that left out billions of dollars for a border wall.

But the shutdown wreaked havoc on many Americans and federal workers, leading to flight delays, the cancellation of immigration hearings and making it harder for some families to obtain student loans, among other things.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.