Americans take stock of the effects of daily shutdown

You and your loved ones are not federal employees or contractors, and you do not live in a job or work closely with government programs. So, what does government closure have to do with you?

More than you think. Washington's actions can be integrated into the daily life of Americans, from a bowl of cereal at breakfast to a bottle of beer after work.

The budget impbade between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats is making waves in unexpected places.

Like the cell phone of Carmen Bush.

It is flooded with telemarketing calls, but it can not be added to the National Do Not Call List. It is not available during the impbade.

"It's more and more a reminder every 15 minutes that the government is closed," says the English teacher in Oakland, California, in high school.

"I feel bad because I know that so many other people are affected by the closure in an even more devastating way, but it 's just a way that has not even crossed me. ;mind."

Here is an overview of several other ways:

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ON YOUR PLATE

Caitlin Hilbert was enjoying a dish of Hawaiian marinated raw fish when the closure stopped her from chewing.

She says that the Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for the safety of seafood products, has suspended routine inspections.

The agency said last Monday it would bring workers back to take over seafood and other "high risk" products. Nevertheless, the moment brought Hilbert to think about the links between Washington and his life in San Mateo, California.

"I want to be able to consume food without worry," says student and illustrator.

The FDA oversees about three quarters of the food supply, ranging from fresh vegetables to dry cereals. The agency conducts about 8,400 domestic food inspections a year, about one-third of which are for "high-risk" foods.

The agency said some controls – on imported food products, for example – continued until closure; The same is true for the United States Department of Agriculture meat and poultry inspections.

Of course, inspectors do not normally look at all the foods Americans eat, and a lot of food is safe and sound.

"The chances that you, as a consumer, get a box of food that has been affected by the closure are low," says Sarah Sorscher, Assistant Director of Regulatory Affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. defense of food security. "But especially as the closure continues, there is an increasing chance that someone in America will get sick without becoming so because of the closure."

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THE COMPLAINTS SERVICE

After suffering past saves as a federal worker, David Swan, a retiree from Atlanta, hoped not to feel the effects of it.

He then attempted to review an identity theft complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission in 2017, after his personal information was compromised by a data breach and that he learned that someone had gone to a hotel under his name.

Swan recently received an email informing him that his FTC account would be disabled if he did not log in, but that the system was offline because of the shutdown. (The committee says that the accounts are not deactivated in the meantime.)

"The process of maintaining the government and its functioning should not be compromised for partisan politics," he said.

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AT THE LUNCHROOM

The closure is being felt in school canteens in Vance County, a rural area of ​​North Carolina, which plans to begin preparing student lunches this week.

Fresh produce will not be consumed in middle and high schools and will be reduced in elementary schools, and canteens will no longer offer bottled water or fruit juice, among other changes announced in a Facebook post this week . The ice cream will be gone too.

The USDA ensures that school canteen programs will be funded until the end of March. But the Vance County school system has said it wants to "conserve food and finance" in a district where most of the students come from families whose incomes are low enough to qualify for a free or low-cost meal. Federal money serves 95% of its school nutrition program.

"Everything indicates that for food supply and funding, everything is fine until March. But beyond that, we do not really know, "said spokeswoman Terri Hedrick.

The USDA said in a statement Thursday that officials "have understood that the current shortage of credits leave some uncertainty about the future," but they hope that the budget impbade will end soon.

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IN TAX TANGLES

Tax Day is only in April, but some of Mindy Schwartz's accounting clients are eager to contact the IRS now. They received notices mentioning problems with previous statements and indicating that customers owed money.

Normally, Schwartz calls a special number from the Internal Revenue Service so that tax practitioners can get to the bottom of reviews like this. But the answer to the line is transmitted only by a message saying "it is not available at the moment."

The help may be on the way: the IRS has recalled about 46,000 of its employees, or more than half of its workforce, as the tax season approaches the beginning of the year. January 28th. . "

For now, Schwartz's concerned customers can only wonder if they have to wait to get through, and possibly risk penalties and interest, or pay what the IRS says they need, even if they believe in the error.

"Getting IRS communications tends to scare people, so when you can not get them an answer, it gets a little scary," said Schwartz, of Carlsbad, CA.

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AT THE AIRPORT

Jennifer Lyon-Weisman is not worried by nature. But she headed to Columbus airport, Ohio, more than three hours before her Friday afternoon flight.

She lives only 15 minutes away, but she does not want to take a risk on her annual trip to a music festival in New Jersey. She had heard of long queues and the closing of checkpoints in some airports from last weekend, after absenteeism had grown among police officers. federal security control who are no longer paid.

The sick leave rate has dropped somewhat and the Transportation Security Agency has indicated that less than 6% of the country's travelers waited for more than 14 minutes of check at the control lines as of Thursday.

But with a weekend of vacation likely to make the crowds jump, Lyon-Weisman was worried.

"And then I feel guilty because people are not paid, and it's a very small problem," said Lyon-Weisman, a hairdresser.

In the end, the crowds at the airport were light and filtering was fast, she said.

While security screening officers and air traffic controllers were ordered to continue to work, the Federal Aviation Administration's safety inspectors remained in the position until the agency began to remember the January 12th.

Approximately 2,200 of the more than 3,000 inspectors are currently in post and oversee the work done by airlines, aircraft manufacturers and repair shops. The government says it is doing essential work, but is giving up tasks such as issuing new pilot certificates.

Meanwhile, pbadengers will probably have to wait a little longer to look at the latest jet model from Delta, a 109-seat jet that, according to the airline, has "one of the widest seats" among single-aisle aircraft. Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said the January 31 launch date would likely be postponed due to certification delays following the closure.

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ON THE CAMPUS COLLEGE

Some students and their families are also struggling with closing problems while trying to obtain tax information for financial aid requests.

With the closure of telephone lines and IRS offices, some are struggling to get the audit and the documents they need to apply. The ruling does not affect the aid itself, but the Ministry of Education recognizes that "some systems and processes depend on information and actions taken by other federal agencies, many of which are currently closed. ".

Reynold Verret, president of Xavier University of Louisiana, said students from his historically black Catholic school in New Orleans were trapped.

"We are not exceptional. At present, all American universities are likely to face it, "he said.

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Tap

Money is not the only thing that does not flow during the shutdown. Some craft breweries postpone new releases or extensions of beer because they need the approval of a federal agency that has not opened.

These breweries tend to frequently offer new seasonal and special breweries, and the new beer labels require approval from the Bureau of Trade and taxes on alcohol and tobacco to be sold across the different regions.

The Lakefront Brewery brewery, located in Milwaukee, for example, announces the upcoming release of cherries and beer soda, which could be delayed while awaiting the resumption of the approval process. label. In other breweries, new sites are idling while waiting for office permits.

"For me, everyone knows what's going on and how many people are affected," said Russ Klisch, founder and president of Lakefront. "The government touches everyone's lives, in one way or another. 39, another. "