The Government Shutdown & It’s Impacted On Rochester

The government shutdown is leaving many federal services on pause. Tens of thousands of the over 115,000 federal employees in New York State are out of work, Gov. Kathy Hochul says, while essential employees like air traffic controllers are working unpaid. So, what federal services will and won’t be impacted in the Rochester area? WHEC -TV News 10 NBC looked into it.

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Foodlink, the Rochester-area’s nonprofit food bank, wrote on social media that people will still receive their SNAP benefits throughout October despite the shutdown. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) will also continue during the shutdown, according to the Department of Agriculture’s contingency plans. The agency said SNAP and WIC will continue “subject to the availability of funding.” It added that SNAP has multiyear contingency funds available to it but did not specify how long those funds would last.

Medicare and Medicaid programs and services will also continue uninterrupted, though staffing shortages could mean delays for some services, like the mailing of Medicare cards. The government has enough money to fund Medicaid for the first quarter of the next fiscal year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Flights will continue at the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport, but air traffic controllers and TSA agents across the country are expected to go without pay until the government is funded again. The Rochester airport, TSA employees are contracted. News10NBC spoke with a local TSA worker and a senior staff member at the airport, but they won’t confirm whether contracted TSA workers are protected from the shutdown and are still being paid. During the last government shutdown, the longest in history that began in December 2018, around 10% of TSA workers called in sick, driving up screening times at major airports. A Southwest agent tells News10NBC they’ve not seen any advisories come through about impacts.

People will still get their Social Security benefits, considered mandatory under law, during the shutdown. However, the Social Security Administration could face a furloughed workforce. Fewer workers could mean delays in processing new Social Security applications. Rochester’s Social Security Administration office on Main Street was open on Wednesday, but offering a reduced number of services due to the shutdown. You can see a list of which services will and won’t be impacted in the full story link above. A Social Security recipient, Richard Nedwidek, told News10NBC he’s concerned about a lack of bipartisanship in Congress. “Their problem is that one side we can work with the other side doesn’t make any difference if it’s Democrats or Republicans or not, unless it’s their idea, they’ll turn it down,” Nedwidek said.

The Department of Veterans Affairs shared information about which services will and won’t be impacted. VA clinics will continue providing services, including Rochester’s clinics on Calkins Road and Clinton Crossings. In addition, these services won’t be impacted:

• VA benefits will continue to be processed and delivered, including compensation, pension, education, and housing benefits.
• Burials will continue at VA national cemeteries. Applications for headstones, markers, and burial benefits processing will continue.
• The Board of Veterans’ Appeals will continue to make decisions on veterans’ cases.
• VA’s primary call center (1-800-MyVA411) and the Veterans Crisis Line (Dial 988, Press 1) will remain open 24/7. Suicide prevention programs, homelessness services, and caregiver support will also continue.

However, during the shutdown, VA benefits regional offices will be closed. You can see a list of benefits offices around Rochester here. These services will also be impacted:

• VA will cease providing transition program assistance and career counseling.
• The VA’s GI Bill (1-888-GIBILL-1) and National Cemetery Applicant Assistance (1-800-697-6947) hotlines will be closed.
• There will be no grounds maintenance or placement of permanent headstones at VA cemeteries.
• Applications for pre-need burial at VA cemeteries will not be processed. No printing of new Presidential Memorial Certificates.
• No outreach to state, county, tribal, municipal, faith-based, and communitybased partners by VA Central Office.

Source: WHEC-TV