President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday night that officially reopened the federal government, ending a tumultuous 43-day shutdown, the longest in American history. Now, many are asking: what happens next?
The signing came just hours after the House passed the measure in a mostly party-line vote of 222-209. The Senate had approved it earlier Monday. This record-breaking shutdown caused widespread disruption, including financial hardship for federal workers who missed paychecks, tens of thousands of canceled flights nationwide, cuts to federal SNAP benefits and more, all just before the busy holiday season.
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While the government is back up and running, some effects of the shutdown will linger. Plus, there’s the looming possibility of another shutdown since this bill only funds the government through Jan. 30.
Here’s what you need to know about how the reopening could affect you:
When will SNAP benefits resume?
The Virginia Department of Social Services expects Virginians to receive about 65% of their usual SNAP benefits for November starting Thursday, Nov. 13. This is in addition to the 25% already distributed earlier this month through the Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance (VENA) program. Those who didn’t get VENA benefits will receive their SNAP payments on Saturday, Nov. 15. Full benefits are expected to resume in December.
More than 850,000 Virginians rely on SNAP, the nation’s largest anti-hunger program. The shutdown caused its first-ever disruption on Nov. 1, leaving food banks and local officials scrambling to meet increased hunger needs just as Thanksgiving approached.
When will flights return to normal?
It’s still unclear when flight schedules and paychecks will return to normal, as airlines wait for the green light to resume full operations.
On Wednesday night, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that flight cancellations would remain at 6% on Thursday, after operating at that level for two days. The FAA had initially planned to increase cancellations to 10% by Friday but is now assessing whether the system can gradually return to normal amid staffing shortages.
Some airlines, like Southwest, are optimistic that the FAA will allow a return to normal operations within a few days.
Air traffic controllers and TSA agents, many of whom worked without pay for over a month, could see those long-overdue checks within days.
At Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, about 300 passengers daily have faced canceled flights, which is roughly 10% of the airport’s travelers, averaging three cancellations each day.
Nationally, nearly 1,000 flights were canceled and more than 1,100 delayed as of Thursday morning, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
What’s next for federal employees?
Thousands of government employees have returned to work following the short-term funding bill signed Wednesday night. The legislation is expected to secure back pay and prevent further layoffs through the end of January.
However, it remains unclear exactly when furloughed workers will receive their back pay or how quickly regular paychecks will resume.
We will continue to update this article as we learn more. For more information on the government shutdown, click here.