As the country edged closer Tuesday to a federal government shutdown, Walt Schweitzer worried about the two-party checks issued to young grain farmers, which can’t be cashed without the signature of the U.S. Farm Service Agency.
Farmers who use crop proceeds to collateralize FSA direct operating loans must split those checks for grain sold to the local elevator. Those checks will go uncashed as long as FSA signatories are furloughed, said Schweitzer, president of Montana Farmers Union. There were 1,142 Montana farmers with FSA direct operating loans last year. The money they’ve borrowed to pay for seed, fertilizer and other farm basics totaled $118.6 million.
“It’s frozen funds,” Schweitzer said. “These are people that are living on a shoestring, the young farmers.”
Wednesday marks the beginning of a new federal fiscal year, but without a federal budget passed by Congress and no agreement on a short-term funding bill, it appeared agencies would begin the new budget year without money to function.
As of Tuesday evening, congressional Democrats had voted to block a budget deal. Instead of supporting the same continuing resolution they voted for in the spring, the minority party is now pushing to add funding for enhanced health care subsidies and roll back some Medicaid cuts approved earlier this year. Republicans have dismissed Democrats’ demands, accusing them of leveraging a shutdown for unrelated policy aims that could be dealt with later. The boosted subsidies for many Affordable Care Act plans are set to expire at the end of the calendar year.
The Republican leaders of the Montana state House and Senate have both advocated for the passage of a continuing resolution with the same terms congressional Democrats agreed to in the spring.
“Allowing a shutdown would consequently and needlessly disrupt our economies, threaten public safety, and undermine public confidence in our institutions,” Montana House Speaker Brandon Ler, R-Savage, said in a letter to congressional leadership. “Our families and communities would feel the pain with immediate effect and confusion. Put simply, a government shutdown should not be used as political leverage to pass partisan reforms — these are not chips Congress should be bargaining with.”
Past shutdowns indicate the political consequences for not funding the government are minimal for Montana politicians, and so are the concessions gained. There have been three government shutdowns since 2013, with Republicans in each case holding out for concessions they didn’t get. In 2013, the holdout concerned Affordable Care Act funding, in 2018 it was immigration and government spending. In 2019, the issue was funding for a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, a stalemate that lasted 34 days.
Congress has passed a federal budget before the start of the federal fiscal year only four times since 1974 when it established the process for funding the federal government. Continuing resolutions funding the government for short terms after Oct. 1 have been the norm.
“When it comes to our federal delegation, we could see a couple points movement in public opinion, but blame will likely mostly fall along partisan lines, and should not move with the base,” said Jessi Bennion, a political science professor at Montana State University. “Big picture, voters have short memories, so it’s hard to imagine a shutdown affecting the midterms, for example.”
Regional government offices were tight-lipped about what services would stop, while those in Washington, D.C., deferred to required contingency plans for what departments will do should they run out of money. Many of the plans posted hadn’t been updated since 2023.
Here’s what we know about what happens to federal operations in Montana if the government shuts down:
Do I have to pay my student loans? What about school funding?
The U.S. Department of Education said many of its core operations will continue, according to the Associated Press. Federal financial aid will keep flowing, and student loan payments will still be due. But investigations into civil rights complaints will stop, and the department will not issue new federal grants. About 87% of its workforce will be furloughed, according to a department contingency plan.
Because most federal grants to schools were made over the summer, the department says it would expect minimal disruption to K-12 school districts and other grant recipients. Title I money, which goes to schools with high concentrations of students in poverty, plus funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act would continue during a shutdown.
Under the shutdown, the department will stop its investigations into schools and universities over alleged civil rights violations.
Montana State University President Brock Tessman emailed the campus Wednesday, saying that “Montana State University expects that a short-term shutdown will create little to no disruption in our daily operations.” He said paychecks, grants and financial aid would remain unchanged.
The U.S. Postal Service continues
U.S. mail will continue to be delivered. Because USPS is funded through fees for services, the postal service isn’t dependent on federal appropriations.
Social Security payments also continue
Because Social Security payments are dependent on annual budgeting by Congress, payments continue through government shutdowns. Employees critical to issuing payments continue to work. But applications for benefits and appeals on benefit decisions cease.
Some things pause at the U.S. Department of Agriculture
The Farm Service Agency plans to discontinue all work unrelated to collateralizing farm loans, while the loans issued by the Rural Development Agency would cease.
Forest Service employees paid from funding sources outside of the general fund would continue working, as would anyone paid with funds carried over from the previous year. Some timber sale contracts would continue to be managed.
Oil, gas and coal leases go on hold
The Bureau of Land Management plans to cease work on new leases to drill and mine for resources on federal land. The pause comes days after the Trump administration announced plans to stimulate interest in coal leases. Review of new mining plans would stop, unless in some cases funding was available from other sources.
At public parks managed by BLM, visitor centers and other facilities will close unless they are managed by a third party that doesn’t rely on BLM staff. Trash collection, toilet cleaning and other sanitation services might not be available at every location.
Camp sites and boat ramps will remain open but restrooms and water might not be available. BLM advises that visitors use these sites at their own risk.
Additionally, reservations at sites that aren’t staffed during the shutdown might not be honored. Refunds will be issued only when the government reopens.
Bureau of Indian Affairs operates with a skeleton staff
The BIA will continue to provide essential law enforcement, social services and public safety services, while pausing environmental oversight and trust management services. Nearly half the agency’s employees would be furloughed for the first five days of a shutdown.
National Parks are in limbo
It’s not yet clear if national parks such as Glacier and Yellowstone would remain open. Park officials have not said what will happen if the government shuts down, but park concessionaires such as Xanterra have said they are monitoring the situation and will offer refunds if people cannot make planned visits.
Some health care services are disrupted
Coverage for Medicare and Medicaid health care services are slated to continue if the federal government temporarily shuts down. But other functions of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would be disrupted, in part because of workforce furloughs.
CMS, which exists within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, oversees investigations into patient harm and quality inspections at hospitals and nursing homes that receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. The agency said it will keep looking into allegations of “the most serious incidents of resident or patient harm” if the government shuts down. But the agency said other types of reviews “would be suspended,” including for recertifications of institutions like the Montana State Hospital.
Other health care programs are set to expire on Oct. 1 unless reauthorized by Congress. The American Medical Association said that pandemic-era expansions for certain Medicare telehealth services would lapse, creating gaps in services for some users. Katy Mack, a spokesperson with the Montana Hospital Association, said many providers will likely continue to offer telehealth services with the hope that new Congressional action will allow reimbursements to restart after the government reopens.
Support for food assistance, WIC services sustained for now
State and national experts who track food assistance funding say that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, recipients will continue receiving monthly support through October but that future funding reserves are less secure.
The program is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture but administered by the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. As of August, the food assistance program covered more than 78,000 Montanans. An additional 3,700 applicants applied for food support that same month.
Part of the uncertainty has to do with if and how Trump’s Office of Management and Budget intends to use reserve funds to cover food assistance costs going forward. In a recent memo about the funding crunch, the Food Research and Action Center, a national group that advocates for funding to address chronic hunger, said those funds could come from a variety of places, including the USDA’s contingency reserves.
Kiera Condon, an advocacy specialist with the Montana Food Bank Network, said Tuesday that the state organization is optimistic about secure funding for the month of October, but said November SNAP benefits are not guaranteed. The same concern goes for WIC, the supplemental assistance program for pregnant women, new parents and young children.
“Typically [WIC has] remained operational during other shutdowns,” Condon said. “But states have not received any funding for [the next fiscal year], making it more challenging,” Condon said.
In an emailed statement Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for the state health department, Jon Ebelt, said that state officials had enough funds for one month of SNAP and WIC services.
“Working with the [Governor’s] Office of Budget and Program Planning, DPHHS has determined it can continue operating federally funded programs for at least 30 days. DPHHS will continue operating programs, and federally funded staff will continue working,” Ebelt said. He did not respond to additional questions about conversations between health department staff and their federal counterparts.
Air Force service members continue working, though civilian furloughs expected
Most active-duty service members at Malmstrom Air Force Base, which is on Great Falls’ east end, will continue working as usual with their pay delayed, according to news reports and information provided by Malmstrom’s public affairs department. Across Montana, there were about 3,300 active-duty Air Force personnel, according to the Department of Defense. The majority of those are assigned to Malmstrom.
Malmstrom is a major employer in Great Falls with hundreds of civilian workers, as well as contractors who regularly do business on base. The base employs around 11% of the Great Falls workforce, according to city data. A Malmstrom spokesperson said that there were 532 assigned civilian positions in the previous fiscal year.
Most civilian Malmstrom workers will face furlough without pay, though there are exceptions for “the minimum number necessary to accomplish excepted activities that are essential to national security and safety,” according to the Air Force. Malmstrom public affairs didn’t say how many fall under that exception.
The Air Force is hopeful for the passage of an appropriations bill, according to a written statement shared by Malmstrom public affairs.
“A lapse in appropriation, depending on its length, can significantly impact our readiness, modernization efforts, and overall ability to maintain technological superiority,” the statement read in part.
Matt Hudson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
