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The government shutdown is stretching into a third week after Senators failed to advance a stopgap funding bill on Thursday. Although most essential government services are set to continue through the end of October, state leaders will soon be tasked with finding funds for essential food programs.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, is in the most immediate danger. According to a fact sheet from the White House, this program becomes reliant on “very limited local contingency funding” immediately after a shutdown begins. In Indiana, there are about 152,000 WIC recipients, according to the fact sheet.
A spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Health declined an interview request from IBJ, stating that no one at the department was available to discuss the situation.
“But the Indiana Department of Health is monitoring the situation and WIC is operating as normal,” media relations coordinator Lisa Welch told IBJ in a written statement. “State funds have been identified to maintain normal WIC operations for the foreseeable future.”
The department didn’t specify the source of the state funding.
The partisan standoff shows no immediate signs of a truce. Senate Democrats rejected for the 10th time a spending bill that would reopen the government, instead insisting that Congress extend tax credits for health plans. Mike Johnson, the Republican U.S. Speaker of the House, has said the shutdown might become the longest in history, surpassing the 35-day stoppage in late 2018 and early 2019.
Another food assistance program, the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is funded just through the end of October.
A letter from federal officials addressed to state-level SNAP administrators indicates the program will run out of funding soon. The letter, dated Oct. 10, tells states they will not receive federal funding for November benefits.
About 571,600 households receive benefits through SNAP, according to a September report from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. The program carried a cost of $111.4 million that month.
Marcus Barlow, deputy chief of staff at FSSA, said the agency continues to examine its options. He said Congress could add language to its continuing resolution signaling it will reimburse states who spend to keep SNAP operating during the shutdown. Absent that, it is likely SNAP benefits in Indiana will be paused come November.
“I don’t know if other states are going to take that risk to pay for federal benefits,” Barlow said. “Because states have to balance their budgets. We just don’t have a bunch of money sitting around that we can throw $200 million into SNAP.”
The FSSA also manages Indiana’s Medicaid program. Barlow said Medicaid benefits should continue as normal.
According to Pew Research, just over 40% of Indiana’s state budget is comprised of federal dollars. Speaking generally about the shutdown on Oct. 7, Gov. Mike Braun spokeswoman Molly Craft said Indiana is in good shape as the shutdown continues.
“Indiana is well-positioned to weather any storm no matter what it may be. We’re managing prudently and living within our means,” Craft said.
Empty federal desks
Federal employees who are considered non-essential are furloughed, and others are working without pay. Even in areas in which the funding persists for services, there are hiccups and extended waits for help.
Housing assistance funds have already been allocated to last through November. After November, housing authorities—like the Indianapolis Housing Agency—have access to reserves that they can use to continue running voucher programs during a government shutdown, according to the National Housing Law Project.
But a local housing organization is still seeing impacts from furloughed public employees.
Amy Nelson, director of the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, said limited remaining staff at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has meant the nonprofit cannot start work on two fair housing grants and has received very little communication on fair housing complaints it filed months ago.
That aligns with guidance from The National Low Income Housing Coalition, which advised that HUD’s ability to perform basic functions, like reviewing and administering grants and providing technical assistance, will likely be affected by the shutdown.
At the same time, the Trump administration has issued layoff notices to more than 400 HUD employees. Nelson said the impact of that order on Indiana is unclear, but a judge has temporarily blocked its implementation.
“Everything just seems to be a mess,” Nelson wrote in an email.seeing
Locally, the Indianapolis Housing Agency canceled a planned Oct. 14 meeting due to the government shutdown. The agency is currently under HUD receivership due to a troubled history, and a new CEO has committed to fixing its financial and operational flaws.
The agency did not respond to a request for comment. In an automatic reply, a spokesperson for HUD’s Midwest office told IBJ, “most HUD programs have been temporarily interrupted, and most HUD employees have been told they cannot work. I will not be able to check this email account during the lapse of appropriations.”
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