It hasn’t taken long for Fairfax County food banks to feel the effects of the federal government shutdown.
More empty shelves than expected greeted Rep. James Walkinshaw during a visit to Food for Others in Merrifield yesterday (Monday). He had stopped by the Western Fairfax Christian Ministries’ food pantry in Chantilly earlier that day.
By KEVIN FREKING and STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The pressure to end the second-longest federal government shutdown is gaining new urgency this week as millions of Americans face the prospect of losing food assistance, more federal workers miss their first full paycheck and recurring delays at airports snarl travel plans.
Affording groceries, already a challenge for many households in the D.C. region, could become an even greater obstacle next month for thousands of Fairfax County residents with the suspension of federal food benefits.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, is expected to pause payments at the end of next week unless Congress and President Donald Trump resolve the budget standoff that has closed the federal government since Oct. 1.
By FATIMA HUSSEIN, JOEY CAPPELLETTI, JESSE BEDAYN and SAFIYAH RIDDLE Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — With every passing day of the government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or working without pay face mounting financial strain. And now they are confronting new uncertainty with the Trump administration’s promised layoffs.
A Reston-based information technology company may lay off nearly 100 people by the end of this year.
Citing “uncertainty around the future of some contracts with federal agencies,” the contractor Peraton issued layoff notices to 92 employees earlier this month, the Washington Business Journal reported last week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said on the social media site X that the “RIFs have begun,” referring to reduction-in-force plans aimed at reducing the size of the federal government.
A Fort Belvoir woman’s interaction with Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson regarding pay for members of the U.S. military went viral today (Thursday).
With the federal government shutdown now in its ninth day, the woman, identified as Samantha from Fort Belvoir, called into C-SPAN’s Washington Journal to express her frustration over the possibility of members of the armed services missing paychecks.
Without action, millions of Americans — including thousands across Fairfax County — will soon experience drastic changes to their healthcare coverage.
Federal health insurance subsidies are set to expire at year’s end, triggering increases to monthly premiums estimated at hundreds of dollars. Rep. James Walkinshaw and other House Democrats are in agreement that seeking a permanent solution is a hill worth dying on.
Though it may be small solace for not knowing when their next paycheck may come, a night of music or theater could become at least a temporary escape for the thousands of workers affected by the ongoing federal government shutdown.
That’s what George Mason University hopes to provide by offering free tickets to select artistic performances for federal employees and contractors.
Like everyone else, Fairfax County leaders remain in wait-and-see mode to determine the short-term and potential long-term implications of the federal government’s ongoing shutdown.
“It really depends on the length,” said Jennifer Imo, managing partner of client services for Ferguson Group, a lobbying organization hired by Fairfax County to represent its interests on Capitol Hill.
