WASHINGTON — The wheels of the Federal Government screeched to a halt on Wednesday, October 1, after Congress failed to pass a spending bill to keep the government in operation.

Services across the federal government were affected as the current government funding appropriations ended on September 30th after both Democrat and Republican lawmakers put forth proposals to end the impasse that failed to receive bipartisan support. 

Critical services like Social Security and Medicare benefits will continue to operate, but thousands of employees across 19 federal agencies have been furloughed. 

Hit the hardest by the shutdown was the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which furloughed 89% of employees, followed by the Department of Education, which furloughed 87% of its staff. 

Sullivan County Communications Director Dan Hust said there was not yet any sign of a direct effect on the operations of our local government.

Representative of New York’s 19th Congressional District Josh Riley posted on his social media, “No matter what happens in Washington, my district and D.C. offices are here to help,” adding a link to his website with information on the shutdown.

In a video posted on Facebook on Tuesday he said, “Earlier this summer, Republicans passed a budget that is absolutely devastating to rural healthcare, and now they’re trying to drive us into a government shutdown that would only make things worse.” 

He continued to say that this was a typical strategy used by politicians in Washington, but, “Back home in upstate New York, this really matters. It’s the difference between whether you can get access to the healthcare you need or not.”

Who is affected?

According to published reports, the federal courts and some government agencies like the Internal Revenue Service have enough money to operate for the time being. Social security checks, mail, student loan bills and funds for Ukraine will still be delivered, while millions of federal workers deemed nonessential will be temporarily suspended. 

After previous shutdowns ended, federal workers received back pay, but contractors and other businesses working for the government are left hung out to dry, at least until lawmakers can reach some compromise.

The Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service, is keeping roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials in national parks open, but it has furloughed 64% of National Park Service employees for the remainder of the shutdown, according to published reports. The agency will maintain some law enforcement, fire suppression, emergency response, and power at most sites within the system of national parks, while visitor services will slow to a drip. 

A government website for the Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River National Park, which is managed by the National Park Service, gave this message: “National parks remain as accessible as possible during the federal government shutdown. However some services may be limited or unavailable.” 

Elected officials react

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a statement on Wednesday saying, “A federal government shutdown has painful consequences for our state.” DiNapoli added that more than 115,000 federal employees work in New York, some of which may have benefits delayed.

Governor Kathy Hochul criticized the shutdown as a failure of Republican leadership. Standing at a podium during a press conference on Wednesday in Lower Manhattan with a sign reading, “End the GOP Shutdown,” with the Statue of Liberty in the background, she said, “Today, the torch she holds as a beacon to others, a symbol, could go dark, not because of an act of God or a horrific storm or a flood, a hurricane, but because Donald Trump and Republicans in Washington forced a government shutdown extinguishing all hope that Washington could find a path to avoid inflicting pain on millions of Americans.”

Placing blame 

Right before the shutdown, lawmakers threw barbs at their opponents across the aisle, blaming each other for the impending financial precipice they were now walking towards. Speaking at the Senate on Tuesday, Republican Senator from South Dakota John Thune said, “The House has passed a clean, nonpartisan resolution to fund the government until November 21. The President is ready to sign it. The Senate Democrats are standing in the way.” 

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer rebutted Thune’s sentiments, saying that Republicans were lying about undocumented immigrants receiving benefits because they are afraid of addressing the real issue: “health care for American citizens.” 

During the same Senate meeting, Republican Senator from Iowa Joni Ernst said, “The same Washington politicians who were whining about DOGE laying off unnecessary bureaucrats just a few months ago are now exposing who is and who isn’t an essential employee by forcing a government shutdown.” 

The following day after the shutdown had begun, Democratic Senator from New York Kirsten Gillibrand released a statement, saying, “This is a Republican-manufactured health care crisis…I’m calling on my Republican colleagues to come to the negotiating table and prioritize American families over billionaires.” 

Democrats were hoping for an extension of the Affordable Care Act enhanced tax credits, which will expire at the end of the year and cause a sudden increase in health-care costs for 20 million Americans, including 1.6 million New Yorkers, according to Gillibrand’s press release. 

As of presstime, federal lawmakers continued to blame their partisan opponents for their inability to agree on a spending bill and the shutdown of the federal government persisted into its second day, leaving thousands of federal workers in New York furloughed and citizens across the nation wondering how long the torch of Lady Liberty would stay dark.