Government shutdown taking a toll

The government shutdown has now become the longest shutdown in United States history and has no signs of ending soon. For Pacific County and many others with higher poverty rates the prolonged closure has raised questions whether or not February SNAP benefits would be delivered among other things. The situation around tax returns has also become a boiling point among citizens as the IRS has yet officially provided how its handling the shutdown.

"Don't worry just yet," says Officials

Pacific County has thousands of SNAP (food stamp) recipients who, like many other counties, rely on the benefits to provide meals for their families. As the government shutdown continues on speculation began increasing that if the shutdown didn't end soon, February SNAP benefits would not be delivered. The United States Department of Agriculture answered the question on Tuesday, January 8 when they sent out a press release to media outlets informing the public that February SNAP benefits would go out, but March could bring a problem if the shutdown doesn't end.

According the the press release, President Donald Trump directed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to develop a plan to ensure low-income Americans have access to the nutrition they need. The plan is to use a provision of the recently expired Continuing Resolution which provides an appropriation for for SNAP and other services for 30 days after the CR's expire.

If the shutdown continues on into February congress would have to develop a way to temporarily fund SNAP and other essential benefits for citizens. Government officials are telling the public to not worry just yet suggesting the president would likely sign an emergency proclamation to continuing the funding in some way.

What does this all mean?

The USDA will now reach out to states, including Washington, and ask them to request early issuance of February SNAP benefits. Washington will have until January 20 to request and implement the early issuance. Once the early issuances are made, the February benefits will be made available for SNAP recipients according to the press release. The benefits could be made available to recipients as soon as January 20.

Numerous calls to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services about when benefits could be dispersed have either been unanswered or greeted with "no comment." Officials speaking under the condition of anonymity state they are unsure how the whole thing will pan out. They express residents will just have to "sit back and wait and see."

Other benefits also funded, for now

SNAP isn't the only program that will be funded for one more month as the Women, Infant, and Child (WIC) Program, Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) and Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) will all continue February funding through their respective programs or through specific government funding through the expanded CR.

WIC will be allocated approximately $248 million and another $350 million was discovered unspent from 2018 that can be allocated at a later date. The USDA states it will continue to work with state agencies to ensure the program and others stay funded should the shutdown continue.

What about tax returns?

The second major question around the entire country is what will happen with tax returns during the shutdown. The answer is vague in complicating ways. The White House has directed the IRS to process and issue tax refunds during the shutdown. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) however claims that issuing tax refunds during a government shutdown is federally illegal stating, "the administration lacks the legal authority to distribute tax returns during a federal shutdown."

The next issue is that the IRS has had to furlough approximately 70,000 workers as part of the government shutdown and its anticipated only 10-12% of workers are continuing to work. The IRS has yet stated how many of those workers can process taxes with most fulfilling what the IRS calls "essential positions." The workers who are working are currently working without any pay.

File and wait is all you can do, says IRS

Citizens began being able to file their tax returns at the beginning of the year hoping for quick returns. Officials are providing conflicting reports with some saying returns will go on as usual while others are expressing refunds could be delayed by several weeks. The IRS did have a contingency plan for five days that has long been surpassed and it's unclear how much longer workers who continue to work, will keep working.

The filing deadline for taxes before needing to file for an extension is Monday, April 15.

Government workers feeling the pinch

The IRS isn't the only government agency feeling the pinch of the shutdown with at least a dozen agencies being vastly affected. The National Park Service has had to shut down parks including the Mt. Rainier National Park due to safety concerns. Other parks have had to be closed due to public health hazards as restrooms have been unkept and garbage is over piling.

The most noted agency being affected has been the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that has been overcome with thousands of workers calling in sick during the shutdown. According to sources workers are getting tired of working without pay and are becoming overly frustrated with the President and lawmakers lack of action. Many mention they're feeling like "pawns in a game of chess."

Are lawmakers even trying?

News broke on Monday, January 14 that approximately 30 Democrat lawmakers and their respective lobbyist were enjoying their time in Puerto Rico with their families at a winter retreat instead of working on the shutdown. The retreat known as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC addressed many issues including the cleanup after Hurricane Maria. Things only got worse when Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also broke news when she announced she had written and introduced a new assault weapons ban, also during the shutdown.

Republicans are now arguing that democrats are crying wolf, yet aren't actually doing anything themselves. Some Republicans are taking the shutdown as a chance to also, vacation a little, but most are working on ways to unite the impasse between parties. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a faithful Trump ally, has urged the President to "open the government at least for a short time."

Wall or nothing

The shutdown has continued on due to the fight between the President and lawmakers on the push for the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. The wall is anticipated to cost upwards of $5.7 billion along with hundreds of millions in upkeep and maintenance once constructed. The President made a campaign promise that Mexico would pay the bill for the wall. A claim that has been all but true and has continued to be the stalling point in reopening the U.S. government.

President Trump has threatened to use his power to declare a national emergency which would allocate much of the funding needed to build the border wall. Iraq War Veteran Brian Kolfage created a Gofundme page hoping to raise $1 billion to help fund the wall, but has only managed to raise $20 million. He has since vowed to refund the money to all donors and is now forming a 501c non-profit titled We Build The Wall in hopes of funding the wall privately.

As of reporting, the shutdown is at day 25.