Benefits

Do-not-call registryclosed Typically during a shutdown the Federal Trade Commission does not add entries to their do-not-call registry or spam database. The agency had used prior year funds to stay open through midday on Dec. 28.

Housing voucher requestsclosed Processing of requests for housing vouchers from Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will stop.

Consumer complaint hotlinesmixed The Federal Communications Commission said on its website that it would shut down most operations on Jan. 3, including its consumer complaints hotline. The Federal Trade Commision won’t respond to new complaints. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not congressionally funded, and will operate normally.

Farm service centersmixed These centers are not fully operational across the country. The Farm Service Agency, which provide market guidance, loans, and other support to farmers, is closed. However, the Natural Resources Conservation Service is still operating in farm service centers.

Federally backed mortgagesmixed The processing of new Federal Housing Authority loans has slowed.

Food stamps and other nutritional assistance programsmixed Congress has not allocated funding for food stamps beyond January, and the program’s emergency funding would not cover even two-thirds of February’s payments, according to past disbursements. Federal funding for Commodity Supplemental Food Program, WIC, and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations has ceased and is reliant on state and local funds. School Lunch, School Breakfast, Child and Adult Care Feeding, Summer Food Service and Special Milk will continue operations into February. Read more

Records requestsmixed After the 2013 shutdown, the Department of Justice concluded that shutdowns do not count towards the FOIA response time. Many agencies halted work on FOIA requests during the 2013 shutdown, and at least the FTC and Department of Transportation have stated they would do so again.

Small business loansmixed Loan processing for most of Small Business Administration's lending programs has slowed or been put on hold. The Treasury Department continues to lend to small businesses.

Tax refundsoperating The Internal Revenue Service will issue tax refunds, reversing previous shutdown policy.

Marriage licenses in D.C.operating The court system in Washington, D.C. is funded by Congress and the Marriage Bureau is closed during the shutdown. However, D.C. Council passed emergency legislation to allow the mayor to approve marriage licenses for the next 90 days or when the shutdown ends, whichever comes first.

National Flood Insurance programoperating FEMA reversed course and announced that the National Flood Insurance Program would issue new policies, though it didn’t for a time at the start of the shutdown. Continued interruption could have hobbled would-be home buyers who need the insurance before closing. Read more

Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and unemployment insuranceoperating Recipients of Social Security, SSI, Medicaid, Medicare, unemployment insurance, TANF and some other programs will continue to receive benefits. The programs’ spending is not dependent on Congress’s explicit funding. Read more

Veterans hospitalsoperating The Department of Veterans Affairs is not one of the affected agencies, so the hospitals will operate normally.