{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://simpson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=351979", "Government Shutdown \u2013 What it Means to You", "2013-10-01", "2013", "2013-10", "Republican", "House", "ID", "Mike Simpson", "S001148", "simpson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "As of October 1st the Federal Government is shut down until a continuing resolution or other funding bill can be approved by both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate and then signed by President Obama. While these negotiations continue, Congressman Simpson provided the following information about how personal offices will be staffed and answers to Frequently Asked Questions about how the shutdown impacts the lives of Americans. \nCongressman Simpson has deemed three staff essential in Idaho and three in Washington DC. Constituents are encouraged to contact him through his official website. Simpson is maintaining limited services in his Washington, DC, and Boise offices and has closed his offices in Twin Falls, Pocatello, and Idaho Falls.\nFrequently Asked Questions about the Government Shutdown:\nDuring a federal government shutdown, it is up to the executive branch to determine which essential activities will continue, therefore the information below should be considered as guidance but may be subject to change.\u00a0Many departments and agencies have provided guidance on operations during a shut down on their websites, if you have additional questions, visit those sites. \nQ \u2013 Will I continue to receive my mail?   \nA \u2013 Yes. The U.S. Postal service functions as an independent organization.\nQ \u2013 Will I continue to get my Social Security benefits?  \nA \u2013 Yes. Social Security is considered a \u201cmandatory\u201d program and is not dependent on appropriations to continue dispensing benefits. However, the Social Security Administration is impacted, but it is believed they would be sufficiently staffed to ensure payments are continued to be made.\nQ \u2013 Will the IRS continue to collect taxes?  \nA \u2013 Yes. All payments can still be processed.\u00a0 However, it is possible that refunds could be delayed and all audit activities by the IRS will be suspended.\nQ \u2013 Can I go to a national park?  \nA \u2013 No. The National Park Service has closed entrances and told all visitors to leave.\u00a0 Anyone already in the parks will have to leave within two days.\nQ \u2013 Will museums in Washington, D.C. be closed?  \nA \u2013 Yes. The Smithsonian, Archives, National Zoo, Holocaust Museum and monuments are closed to the public. \nQ \u2013 Will food safety inspections occur?  \nA \u2013 Safety related inspections will continue, but some investigations into violations could be impacted. \nQ \u2013 Will a shutdown stop the implementation of Obamacare?  \nA \u2013 No. The state-run exchanges will open as scheduled. Similar to Social Security and Medicare, most of the funding for the exchanges is mandatory funding not impacted by appropriations.\nQ \u2013 Will I still receive unemployment benefits or food stamps?  \nA \u2013 Yes. The Employment and Training Administration has said it will provide essential functions, including dispensing unemployment benefits.\u00a0 The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said SNAP (food stamps) is funded for another year. \nQ \u2013 Can I receive WIC benefits?  \nA \u2013 No money is available to pay for the administrative costs of WIC at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.\u00a0\u00a0 However, states do administer the program, so funding may be available.\nQ \u2013 Will the federal school lunch program stay in effect?   \nA \u2013 The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said that most schools will be able to provide meals through October. \nQ \u2013 Will airports stay open?  \nA \u2013 The Transportation Security Administration has said passengers should see little change at security.\u00a0 There are furloughs at TSA but essential employees will continue to work.\nQ \u2013 Will federal prisons, border patrol, emergency medical facilities, law enforcement and disaster response continue functioning?  \nA \u2013 Yes. Any employee who is considered to be essential to protecting life and property will remain in place.\nQ \u2013 Will troops be paid?  \nA \u2013 Yes. Congress passed legislation Monday to ensure members of the armed forces get paid on time as normal. \u00a0Furloughed civilian workers won\u2019t be paid unless Congress passes legislation restoring lost income when the shutdown ends. \nQ \u2013 Will veterans continue receiving compensation for service related wounds or injuries?  \nA \u2013 Yes, but the VA has said it only has enough money to compensate veterans for the rest of October. \u00a0The VA has also said burial benefits, headstones and death notices will remain available.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://simpson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=351979"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8540507405996323, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}