The government shutdown may feel like a now-distant political story to some, but for Austin families, its effects are as real as they were when it became the longest in U.S. history. From high-level employees to food stamp recipients, people reliant on government funds were left stranded as the flow of federal money froze.
When the U.S. Congress failed to agree on a new governmental budget at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, the federal government shut down and some federally funded jobs and initiatives were halted. As compromise efforts remained stagnant, agencies that relied on regular funding were unable to keep workers on payrolls.
One government-funded initiative, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides low-income families across the U.S. with money to spend on groceries, had its benefits frozen overnight. In response, LASA baseball coach and World Geography teacher Eric Martanovic rallied the AISD community to respond with a food drive combined with a wiffle ball tournament.
“The motivating factor was understanding just how many families it would impact,” Martanovic said. “We knew that there would be families who were struggling prior to Nov. 1, and to not receive their regular SNAP relief would affect our youngest students greatly.”
Martanovic estimated that the drive raised roughly $2,500 and fed more than 200 families. Nonetheless, according to Chris King, the Executive Director of Baptist Community Center Mission, Austin fundraising efforts still struggled to provide for families. Some individuals got half of their monthly SNAP benefits for November, while others received none, straining the church’s efforts to feed locals in need.
“When you see a single mom with six kids who’s used to getting $900 in SNAP benefits that go to nothing, that’s a big challenge,” King said. “We were seeing so many more people come in, trying to keep up with food, and it’s been a challenge.”
The shutdown has also affected federal workers nationwide, disrupting payments and temporarily laying off hundreds of thousands of employees. A civilian Air Force software developer, who asked for anonymity for fear of retribution from his employer, described how the shutdown changed his daily routine when he stopped going to work.
“My family’s whole routine has been altered—some in good ways,” the software developer said. “Normally I am on base from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. During the shutdown, I get up, watch the news for the latest updates on the government, then I take my daughter to school. My wife’s day-to-day tasks are impacted since she normally keeps it quiet and handles the house cleaning, but I am home hassling her.”
Because he is the main developer, his absence stalled critical systems. Applications could not be updated or maintained, and other personnel were limited in what they could do.
“Being the main developer on my project, no one else had the knowledge to develop or maintain the code base,” the developer said. “…There are other issues, such as System Administrators being deemed non-essential, so any account issues or lab environment issues would cause the continuing efforts of the active duty personnel or the essential workers to halt.”
His role was deemed non-essential, making the man an immediate target of the temporary layoffs and furloughs given to hundreds of thousands of people in similar positions. He communicated with his team informally, but projects were frozen.
“I was strictly prohibited from working on any efforts dealing with my normal job,” the developer said. “[My team and I] have been staying in touch via a text chain.”
The pause in work created concern about long-term consequences. If the U.S. Armed Forces needed to do so, the developer was certain that bringing systems back online would require a time-consuming effort.
“If the U.S. Armed Forces were to be drawn into a major conflict during the early stages of the government reopening,” the developer said, “we would need a massive task force to get all systems up and running at near-flawless states.”
Morale on his team also suffered during the shutdown. Some coworkers were unable to take paid leave, while others worried about future job restrictions.
“Many people on my team did not have six weeks of vacation stashed so they simply did not get paid for some of the shutdown,” the developer said. “I thankfully did have enough vacation to cover the shutdown, but now I am wiped of 3 years of saved vacation. Now I do not have the days to take a family vacation anytime soon.
“While we were able to work other jobs during the shutdown, we have to be cognizant of what type of job we take. When the government reopens and our clearances are up for review, if it is a job the government does not approve of, our clearance could be reduced or revoked.”
Although the shutdown ended on Nov. 12, restoring funding to the weakened organizations, the money that never came during its 43-day span continues to weigh on those it affected.