美国国家公共电台 NPR How The Partial Government Shutdown Could Affect You

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NOEL KING, HOST:

This morning, a partial government shutdown continues. It started on Saturday after lawmakers failed to agree on a set of spending bills. The main sticking point was President Trump's demand for $5 billion for border wall funding. The president has stayed in D.C. instead of going off to his resort in Florida, but it's still not clear when the shutdown is going to end. About a quarter of the government is affected¹. That's 800,000 federal workers. Some of them are furloughed, some of them are working without pay for the moment. NPR's Shannon Van Sant has the story.

SHANNON VAN SANT, BYLINE²: The effects of the shutdown will be most noticeable on Wednesday when federal employees were due to return to work after the Christmas holiday. But impacts of the shutdown are already being felt far beyond Washington. Some national parks and monuments are closed.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Due to the lapse³ in federal appropriations⁴, Fort McHenry will be closed for the safety of visitors and park resources.

VAN SANT: Others will remain open but with reduced staff and facilities. Tourist Twila Manheim was thrilled to be able to visit the Statue of Liberty.

TWILA MANHEIM: We were really worried because we just drove up from Maine, six of us, for this. And this is our first time, so we're so excited that it didn't shut down, and, you know, I mean, it's going to affect a lot of people but today, not us.

VAN SANT: Core government functions are not included in the shutdown. Air traffic control and Amtrak will keep running. People will still receive their Social Security checks, and U.S. military operations will continue to run around the world. Customs and Border Protection agents will keep working along the border and at ports of entry. And the U.S. Postal⁵ Service will deliver the mail as usual. Small businesses may not have access to the Small Business Administration's federally assisted loans as SBA's guarantees to back loans will freeze. State and local farm service centers will be closed and won't be able to assist farmers in signing up for new programs. Tourist Katherine Sharpe says it's time for lawmakers in Washington to make a deal.

KATHERINE SHARP: I think it's pretty ridiculous that a bunch of adults can't come to terms and some sort of compromise to keep the country running.

VAN SANT: In the meantime, 380,000 federal employees will stay home while another 420,000 have been ordered to work without pay. Shannon Van Sant, NPR News.