How The Looming Government Shutdown Would Affect Social Security
Summary from AllSides News Team
The currently looming government shutdown has drawn attention to how social benefit systems, particularly Social Security, may be affected if an agreement is not reached by October 1.
The Details: While Social Security payments would remain unaffected and benefits would continue to be paid without interruption, much of the Social Security staff, 15% according to one expert, would be furloughed. As a result, customer service operations may be affected.
For Context: To avoid a shutdown, House lawmakers must agree on a spending bill by the end of the month. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is receiving pushback from a hard-right group of Republicans, who on Thursday joined with Democrats in a test vote that saw the agreement voted down, 212-216.
Key Quotes: Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said state disability determination services could be affected because The Social Security Administration “urges states to continue their work during a shutdown, but the decision lies with state governments and in the past some have closed.”
How The Media Covered It: The story was widely covered by left and Center-rated outlets. CBS News (Lean Left bias) said “The clock is ticking for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy,” to find a compromise, while The Hill (Center bias) generalized, calling it the duty of “lawmakers.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
What a government shutdown would do to Social Security payments
Relax. Your monthly Social Security checks are not in danger because of the looming federal government shutdown.
That will be reassuring news to those retirees who, like many of the rest of us, have difficulty understanding the different impacts of, on the one hand, the U.S. government coming up against its debt limit, and on the other hand a government shutdown prompted by the failure to pass an annual budget.
The former crisis was threatened earlier this year, you may recall, and only averted at the last minute. Hitting the...
From the Center
Would a government shutdown impact Social Security, VA benefits? As lawmakers continue to try to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month, many are growing concerned about how it could affect them, especially when it comes to federal monthly payments they receive.
The government could shut down by the end of next week, if Congress isn’t able to pass a spending bill. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy vowed Wednesday he would not give up trying to persuade his colleagues to pass a temporary funding bill.
Still, the shutdown looms.
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From the Left
Government shutdown would impact many services. Here's what will happen with Social Security.
The clock is ticking for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to find a compromise to keep the federal government running and sidestep a costly shutdown.
The specter of a federal government shutdown, which would begin on October 1 if a solution isn't found by then, is raising questions for Social Security recipients about how a stoppage might impact their monthly benefit checks. Experts said there's some good and bad news for the 66 million Americans on Social Security.
Would a government shutdown affect Social Security checks?
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