How the potential government shutdown could impact you

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The federal government could be shutting down this weekend. How will that impact you and your family?

You’ll still get your social security checks and this won’t impact SNAP benefits, but this will pause aid programs like WIC immediately.

If you wish to visit a national park, you’ll likely find closed signs and barricades. Thousands of park rangers will be furloughed as a result of the shutdown.

WBRC visited AG Gaston Motel Friday to try and talk with a few of the rangers. They were unable to speak on camera, but one did tell me that they were nervous for the weeks ahead because the reality is no one knows how long this could persist impacting more of us each and every day.

“Good luck getting a new passport in the short term. Good luck trying to get a hold of a counselor at the VA. There is going to be a lot of people who are laid off temporarily and its going to be very hard getting help from the federal government,” said Carol Gundlach with Alabama ARISE.

TSA and air traffic controllers are another area of concern. While they are considered essential and will continue working, the shutdown would mean these workers won’t be paid until congress passes some kind of agreement, but airport leaders don’t expect you’ll see an impact at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.

“We expect it to be business as usual. We expect that the TSA workers will be here, that the Air Traffic Controllers will be where they need to be and that all will be relatively normal from a passenger’s perspective,” said Kim Hunt VP of Communications for the Birmingham Airport Authority.

Hunt did say that if this is a prolonged shutdown and essential workers begin calling out or simply staying home, that would have a larger impact.

Get news alerts in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or subscribe to our email newsletter here.

Copyright 2023 WBRC. All rights reserved.