The wheels of government are grinding to a halt as Republicans and Democrats in Congress let a Sept. 30 deadline go by without passing a funding bill.
In Georgia, parks and many federal offices closed down to the general public. Other “essential” services — like federal law enforcement and airport services — remain open.
Both sides are talking tough, and it’s unclear how long this shutdown might last. The White House has threatened to fire thousands of workers, a move that could transform the federal workforce for years to come.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s reporters are monitoring the impacts of the shutdown on citizens and federal workers. Stay here for updates throughout the day.
Federal government shutdowns are detrimental to passengers and shippers due to the suspension of hiring, new safety initiatives and modernization programs, an aviation industry coalition told congressional leaders.
In a letter sent on the eve of the shutdown, the Modern Skies Coalition of airline industry and travel groups, airline worker unions and other aviation associations wrote that a shutdown would jeopardize progress made on air traffic control modernization.
The coalition also said the suspension of infrastructure work for modernization causes backlogs and delays that continue "long after funding is restored."
"Although air traffic controllers, technicians, and other exempted aviation safety professionals continue to work without pay during a shutdown, many other FAA employees who support them are furloughed," the coalition wrote in the letter.
The letter added that "shutdowns are both costly and harmful to our economy."
The Transportation Security Administration in a statement Wednesday affirmed it will "continue operations to keep the traveling public safe" during a federal government shutdown.
TSA officers who handle security screening and deemed essential are continuing to work through a shutdown, albeit without pay until government reopens.
"While TSA is prepared to continue screening about 2.5M passengers a day, an extended shutdown could mean longer wait times at airports," the agency said in its statement. "We kindly ask for our passengers’ patience during this time."
At lunchtime Wednesday, only a few people trickled out of the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center in downtown.
The city’s largest federal building houses agencies such as the Social Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and the departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services.
But around noon, on the first day of a federal government shutdown, it was quiet at the complex.
Jasmine Jamil, owner of Subs & Salads Junction, a cafe across Martin Luther King Jr. Drive from the Sam Nunn building, knew something was different today. When she arrived into work, she found a spot on the first levels of a parking deck when usually she has to drive to the top.
The cafe, which has operated for 30 years and sells items such as “The Atlanta’s Best” Italian sub, had few customers around noon.
“This time, we’d be like go, go, go busy,” Jamil said. “We are not even busy … We didn’t have that many customers today.”
She worries how long a federal shutdown might last.
“No business, how I survive?” she asked. “I have to pay the rent. Rent is not going to stop.”
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said Wednesday afternoon it will continue paid operations through Oct. 17 using court fee balances and other funds not dependent on a new appropriation.
“Most proceedings and deadlines will occur as scheduled,” the agency said. “In cases where an attorney from an executive branch agency is not working because of the shutdown, hearing and filing dates may be rescheduled.”
Court filings can still be submitted through the federal judiciary’s electronic case management system.
Initially, federal court operations were confirmed through Oct. 3. A new assessment found sufficient funds to continue paid operations for another two weeks.
If the shutdown extends beyond Oct. 17, federal courts will operate under the terms of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which allows certain necessary judicial functions to continue during a lapse in appropriations.
Flights and security screenings are expected to continue at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and other airports around the country during the government shutdown, with air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers deemed essential. But an extended shutdown could still affect travelers because of the toll it could take on federal workers.
“The longer a shutdown drags on, the more likely we are to see longer TSA lines, flight delays and cancellations, national parks in disrepair and unnecessary delays in modernizing travel infrastructure,” said Geoff Freeman, CEO of industry group U.S. Travel Association, in a written statement. The group also said an Ipsos survey showed 60% of Americans said they would cancel or avoid trips by air in the event of a shutdown.
According to Freeman, a government shutdown could cost the nation’s travel economy $1 billion each week, “affecting millions of travelers and businesses while placing unnecessary strain on an already overextended federal travel workforce."
In a letter to Congressional leaders last week warning of the toll a shutdown could take on the travel economy, Freeman wrote that a shutdown exacerbates staffing shortages of TSA officers and air traffic controllers. Travelers would also be affected by closed or neglected national parks and federally-owned museums and attractions, he added.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, and other nutrition programs will continue during the shutdown, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s contingency plan.
The agency's plans say SNAP and other programs would continue "subject to the availability of funding."
The Office of Management and Budget, the plan said, would issue reserve funds for SNAP as needed. Other operations considered mission-critical, including food safety inspections and animal health programs related to diseases like bird flu, will also continue during the lapse in funding.
The agency’s plans show that about 42,000 of the agency’s workers will be furloughed.
Other department activities will cease, including research deemed nonessential and the issuance of new farm loans, according to USDA's plan.
USDA did not immediately respond to a request for specific information related to Georgia.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a union that represents nearly 20,000 air traffic controllers, engineers and others, issued a statement calling for an end to the government shutdown.
The union noted air traffic controllers are required to continue working without pay during a shutdown, but more than 2,300 of the aviation safety professionals it represents are furloughed, including aerospace engineers and aircraft certification engineers.
“Congress must act now to end this shutdown,” said NATCA President Nick Daniels in a written statement. “When the federal government shuts down it introduces unnecessary distractions and our entire aviation system is weakened.”
Some controllers are already working mandatory overtime requiring six days a week of working 10 hours a day, according to NATCA.
“The increased stress and fatigue that comes from working long hours without pay cannot be overstated,” Daniels said in the statement.
He added controllers will still “continue to perform the vital work they do throughout the shutdown to safeguard our National Airspace System.”
The U.S. Department of Justice is directing operations toward national security, federal law violations and essential public safety functions during the shutdown, a spokesperson said Wednesday.
“Inquiries outside of these functions will be considered when the lapse in appropriations ends,” the spokesperson said.
A DOJ contingency plan, dated Sept. 29, says it also will continue activities funded by other sources, such as “permanent indefinite appropriations” and unspent money carried over from previous years.
The agency says it has just over 115,000 employees nationwide, most of whom are excepted from furlough.
A sign says the CDC Museum is “temporarily closed,” and barricades block most entrances into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The health organization responsible for overseeing and preventing deadly diseases, headquartered in Georgia, has halted, save for select essential workers. It’s mostly crickets here.
Roughly two-thirds of the agency's staff has been furloughed, according to a contingency plan released by the government.
Wednesday morning, Maggie Robinson of Pennsylvania and her four friends made a special trip to one of Atlanta’s top attractions, as part of their self-described “Southern civil rights tour.”
But the friends, including some from as far as California and Colorado, were soon let down.
The visitor center was locked shut at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, a site operated by the National Park Service that honors the civil rights icon.
Its closure comes amid a federal government shutdown that is disrupting park and other services across the city.
“We’re extremely disappointed,” Robinson said. “This was the first and maybe the most important stop.”
The visitor center was planned to shut down Oct. 6 for renovations, according to a note posted on the door.
People could still walk the grounds Wednesday, and visitor parking was open.
“There’s nobody here,” said Don Moore, with the Atlanta Sightseeing Bus Tour. He was still making the most of his tour, showing a couple tourists the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame and other monuments at the park.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, however, is not a federal entity and remains open.
Robinson and her group headed next door to the King Center, which is not operated by the National Park Service. Its attractions such as Freedom Hall — with exhibits honoring the King family, Mahatma Gandhi and Rosa Parks — were open Wednesday.