Snap Benefits
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program issues monthly benefits to low-income families and individuals so they can buy food. Because this program is funded by the federal government, the shutdown causes snap benefits to be suspended. This is impacting 42 million Americans including 16 million children. 5.3 million dollars in contingency funds are available to use from the USDA but does not have legal authority to be used. Even though it has been suspended, recipients may still receive their October payments.
California deployed volunteers and the national guard to assist with meal preparation and distribution. Hawaii has created the Hawaii relief program to assist families facing financial difficulties due to the suspension of the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance. Individuals do not need to be enrolled in SNAP to apply for this assistance. They also provide up to four months of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) support for rent or mortgage payments with a maximum of 6,000 dollars. As well as assistance with utility bills, covering deposits up to 3,000 dollars and monthly bills up to 2,000 dollars. Other states such as Louisiana, Minnesota, Utah, and New York have implemented similar opportunities for families struggling.
Military
Military workers are greatly impacted during the shutdown because they are required to continue to work without pay. The military works directly with the federal government, so funds come from them, 
meaning that they cannot pay workers until the shutdown is over. Civilian Employees working within the Department of Defense could experience being furloughed but are insured back pay when the government reopens. The Military Health System continues to provide healthcare services including inpatient and emergency care. Some outpatient services may be limited due to staffing shortages and access issues. Military families face harsh financial strain, mostly the ones living paycheck to paycheck. The shutdown can reduce readiness and national security by affecting the military’s ability to fund plans. Also pushing back time to initiate new contracts, conduct certain training and recruit new personnel.
NASA
Because NASA is a government organization, its funds for projects and worker pay come directly from the national government. 83% of their workforce has been furloughed due to the inability to receive pay. Public access, educational support, and most research activities have been suspended because they have been deemed non-essential. This causes delays in different tasks which can have long-term effects on the organization. Most science work including planetary data, asteroid studies, and development of future missions are also on hold
These delays are bad because it adds to a loss of confidence publicly and internationally when people think that NASA isn’t able to carry out complex missions. Having hold ups in projects also leads to more expensive costs for reviews and redesigns with limited resources due to the shutdown. Taking more time to conduct more reviews and edits also cause long development times
Infrastructure
A very visible impact due to the government shutdown is the halting of federally funded construction projects. Even if the money needed has been put aside for projects, progress has to be on pause. Things like improvements in infrastructure, expansions of military bases and other government-owned building projects are experiencing delays or maybe even full work stoppages. With housing starts or employment reports suspended, businesses could lose critical visibility into current market conditions. Existing contracts could be affected by stop-work orders, which can cause delays, financial losses, and legal complications. The slowdown in construction activity can also lead to lower demand for materials.
Education
Schools depend on federal grants to improve quality of education for students, recruitment and retention of new teachers. Federal grants that have already been awarded to schools most likely will go through, but new grants in the process will be paused indefinitely as new funding is being decided by Congress. The students and schools that have been greatly impacted are the ones that are located on tax-exempt federal lands such as military bases and Native American reservations because they don’t operate with funds from local taxes and rely on federal money. Others are the ones that receive Impact Aid, which is a federal education program designed to assist local school districts that have lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal property. As well as helping districts that have incurred additional costs due to the enrollment of federally connected children. Zachary High School uses federal funds to help increase teacher salaries and the benefits for educators. Other ways they use the money are technology upgrades and facility repair in classrooms and around the school. These funds are a vital part of ZCSD’s tactics to enhance their educational resources and support student learning.
The loss of funding from the government has the ability to have lasting effects on companies that deeply depend on it. Because of this many individuals and their families suffer but different states have created programs to help them.
