The federal government is barreling toward a shutdown on Tuesday, with the Senate adjourning for the night, leaving no chance a deal is passed by Congress by the midnight deadline.
A government shutdown will impact government services and cause all nonessential federal workers to be furloughed. Essential workers, such as military servicemembers and the TSA, to continue working without pay.
The shutdown could also have major impacts to Philadelphia-area residents and businesses. Here’s what to know.
Tourism
A shutdown could lead to the closure of National Parks and federal sites, or, leave them severely understaffed.
Many of Philly’s main tourist attractions, such as the Independence Mall, are controlled by the federal government.
As of 7:51 p.m. on Tuesday, the National Park Service had not developed a detailed plan for if the shutdown occurs, but with most of their employees not considered essential, there could be no one working to open Philly’s historic sites.
Financial benefits
Benefits such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and unemployment will continue to have their benefits unaffected, however, new applicants and people who need replacement benefit cards will not have their applications processed during the shutdown, Kate Ashford from NerdWallet told NBC10 Responds.
Additionally, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, could run out of money if the shutdown lasts for more than 30 days.
Layoffs
President Donald Trump has threatened mass layoffs for federal workers if the shutdown were to go into effect, which differs from shutdowns past, when federal workers were furloughed or forced to work without pay until the spending bill was passed.
The threat has Philly workers worried they will lose their jobs due to the shutdown.
“This is a little different, the president is threatening to fire, actually get rid of these furloughed employees,” said David Fitzpatrick, the secretary treasurer of the AFGE Council 270, which represents National Parks workers.
Federal courts
A spokesperson for the federal courts in Philadelphia told NBC10 that the courts would remain open until Friday, Oct. 3, but will have to close if the shutdown continues after that.
Scams
Government officials are warning Americans that scammers could use the shutdown to try to get personal information by impersonating them.
Officials say the scam will likely start with a text, email or phone call, and claim to be from a government agency such as the Social Security Administration.
Cliff Steinhauer from the National Cybersecurity Alliance told NBC10 Responds that a government agency will not try to contact people during a shutdown.
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