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Government shutdown impacts local operations

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LAKE COUNTY – Washington, D.C. may be thousands of miles away, but the Mission Valley is starting to feel the impacts of the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history.

The shutdown began on Dec. 21 when national leaders were unable to agree upon a budget for the federal government after the previous budget ran out. As a result, federal funding is not being supplied to many agencies that rely on it in order to function.

Food assistance

Changes in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will impact Lake County residents who shop for groceries using money provided by the federal government. SNAP recipients qualify for funds based on income.

Typically, SNAP funds are distributed at the beginning of each month. This month, the USDA instructed all states to release the funds before Jan. 20. In Montana, funds were applied to SNAP recipients’ accounts on Jan. 17.

According to a press release from the USDA, the change was made to ensure that SNAP recipients received their funds if the shutdown continued. While those who rely on SNAP to complete their grocery budget will have the money, budgeting may be difficult with the changed funding schedule.

Jon Ebelt, Department of Public Health and Human Services public information officer, said his department is working to remind people to be cautious when spending their SNAP. “We strongly advise clients to take steps to make these funds stretch through the month of February,” he said.

Ebelt said it was unclear whether SNAP recipients would receive their benefits if the shutdown continued into March. “We can’t answer this question until we receive further federal guidance,” he said. If the government shutdown ends, SNAP benefits will be distributed on their normal schedule starting in March.

Changes in benefit distributions times could also impact local food pantries. Mary Martin is the board president and operations manager at the Polson Loaves and Fish food pantry. The food pantry hasn’t seen a significant increase in the number of clients since the shutdown. However, Martin worries that the early distribution of SNAP could change that

“Quite a few people in the area rely on SNAP for a good deal of their food budget,” she said. “We supply just a portion of it.”

If the shutdown continues past February and SNAP funds are not available, those who rely on SNAP for groceries will likely turn to food pantries.

Martin said for now Loaves and Fish is responding to the potential increased need by allowing families to take one extra set of groceries this month. “Instead of 12 times this year, they’ll get to take food 13 times,” she said.

Loaves and Fish is well stocked for now thanks to holiday food drives. Martin said whether or not supplies will be able to serve all those impacted by the shutdown will depend on when the government re-opens.

“We’ll just have to see how long this plays out,” she said.

CSKT programs

While many tribal governments in the nation have been unable to provide services without federal funding, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have operated as normal despite the shutdown.

On Jan. 10, CSKT released a letter written by Director of Financial Management Rick Eneas. He wrote that CSKT would be able to “weather this (hopefully) temporary storm with less immediate impact than some other governments.” All CSKT employees are working on their regular schedules and all programs are functioning as normal

The federal government funds many programs administered by the tribes, including Indian Health Services, natural resource management and courts. In his statement, Eneas said most federal agencies that the tribe relies on are allowing tribal programs to continue to operate.

Eneas said the tribes have made efforts to reduce their dependence on federal funds in past years. Reserve funds will allow CSKT to continue operating for the time being. “Self-governance compacts and economic development efforts (such as our tribal corporations) have prevented this situation from being worse,” he wrote.

Still, the tribes are taking measures to reduce unnecessary spending until federal funding is restored. In a Dec. 26 memo, CSKT’s finance office informed the tribes' employees of spending restrictions. The memo forbade unnecessary travel and overtime work. On Jan. 17, another memo to employees stated that spending restrictions would continue. According to the memo, all staff will continue to work normally until further notice.

With no indication that federal funding will be restored soon, CSKT can’t make promises about what is on the horizon. According to Eneas, the tribes are using general funds for some costs that are typically reimbursed by federal agencies

“We have sufficient resources available to cover those costs for now but that won’t be the case if this shutdown continues for an extended period of time,” Eneas said.

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