Effects of government shutdown hit home
Hays County and the surrounding areas are starting to feel the weight of the longest federal government shutdown in American history – now officially in its 30th day, as the dispute between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats over funding for a wall on the Mexican border continues.
Nationally, the shutdown has left approximately 800,000 federal workers without pay – many of those workers received their first $0 paycheck last Friday – and around 420,000 workers are on the job but receiving no pay, while another 380,000 are furloughed, meaning they are on forced unpaid leave.
While there isn’t much of a federal industry in Wimberley, there are some local businesses that rely on government contracts. The city of Wimberley said it does not foresee any impacts for the city or to any contracts, and that the city does not bill for any service. But if someone were to come to the city with issues related to the government shutdown they would take that into consideration.
There are some local impacts though.
The Austin/San Antonio Weather Forecast Office in New Braunfels, which is the closest to Wimberley, currently has 25 employees that are working without pay, because of their “excepted” status.
“We just show up to work how we’re supposed to and do the mission that we’re supposed to,” Forecaster Cory Van Pelt said. “So any missions that are considered a critical function, we’re still doing those. If you’re ‘excepted’ status you are just required to show up to work.”
When asked about how the government shutdown was affecting employees’ morale and finances at the National Weather Service office, Van Pelt said he couldn’t say anything about that so he had “no comment.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) employees of the Caldwell-Hays-Comal County Farm Service Agency in Lockhart, that’s been closed since Dec. 28, are on furlough due to lapse of government funding. They are also unable to access email or voicemails until funding is restored, according to the recording left on their machine.
The San Marcos Aquatic Resources Center (SMARC) and Texas Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, that’s under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), has had its front gates shut since Dec. 26 and are no longer able to monitor springflow at the San Marcos Springs and Comal Springs – a tool that has been used to forecast water supplies for the area — as well as to gauge the impact of a coming flood.
As federal employees enter another week without pay, many have turned to local food banks for assistance and have started to file for unemployment, if they can. Federal workers that are deemed essential or “excepted” — those who are working but not being paid — are not allowed to claim unemployment, according to guidance from the Labor Department. But those on furlough can get coverage in some cases.
According to the Labor Department, 10,454 federal civilian employees filed a new unemployment insurance claim during the week ending January, an increase of 5,694 from the week before. Typically, claims among federal workers is low. As a comparison, only 1,148 federal employees made jobless claims during the same week in 2018. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, approximately 20 employees of the IRS that reside within Hays County have filed unemployment insurance claims since the government shutdown began.
According to Feeding Texas, the statewide network of food banks, federal workers have increasingly been turning to food banks for assistance and food banks are preparing to meet a surge in need if the shutdown continues, as well as monitoring potential disruptions to federal food aid in Texas.
“This man-made disaster is wreaking havoc on our communities. Congress needs to re-open the government before it gets worse,” Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas said. “Any other policy debates should come after we keep our children, seniors and families fed.”
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is also planning to issue February SNAP benefits early. However, many who count on the program could be forced to spread their February benefits over 40-50 days, depending on when the next issuance is scheduled. The government would also need to re-open by mid-February to avoid a large cut in March SNAP benefits.
Hays County Food Bank Communications Coordinator Mallory Best said that although they don’t ask whether recipients are federal employees, they have noticed a corresponding uptick in households registering for food assistance since the shutdown began, and some of the recipients that have been vocal have pointed towards the shutdown. In January of 2018 only 14 new households registered for assistance, versus 47 in the first month of 2019.
The Wimberley Crisis Bread Basket said they have not seen an impact from the government shutdown, but people impacted are welcome to stop by for help. Distributions are on Tuesdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.