Take Action: Tell Congress to End the Shutdown Now
10/27/25
The federal government has been partially shut down since October 1st as Congress has failed to agree on an annual budget. The shutdown has imminent consequences for the health and well-being of millions of Americans whose paychecks are being withheld, and food access is being threatened.
As of now, more than one million federal employees are going unpaid, including approximately 730,000 working without pay and 670,000 who have been furloughed. Missing paychecks could force people to cut into their savings, rack up credit card debt, work additional jobs, and/or struggle to meet their own and their family’s basic needs.
If the shutdown continues into November, some states have already warned that benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) could be delayed. 42 million people with low incomes rely on SNAP every month to afford food. A prolonged shutdown could also jeopardize benefits through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). 6.7 million pregnant and postpartum people, infants, and children under age five with low incomes rely on WIC every month to afford nutritious food.
The disagreement on a budget bill has largely been about whether to extend the set-to-expire Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits to protect health insurance coverage for millions of Americans. While outside of the budget itself, if Congress doesn’t extend these subsidies, an estimated 7.3 million people could lose their ACA coverage, 4.8 million of whom could become entirely uninsured in 2026. Millions of others would have to pay more for insurance coverage, resulting in financial hardship for many. This will only extend the hurt that many families are already feeling.
While Congress continues to get paid, the American people, including some of our most vulnerable community members, won’t have their most basic needs met. This is simply unacceptable.
We must protect the health and well-being of our neighbors. Tell Congress to put aside partisan politics, come together on a budget bill, and end the shutdown now.
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