Warm Springs IHS Services will Continue if US Govt. Shuts Down

The U.S. government appears headed toward a shutdown as Congress struggles to agree on a spending plan for the new federal fiscal year that starts Sunday. If a shutdown occurs, some federal workers will be furloughed, and some government services will be curtailed until new spending authority is approved.

The full scope of a federal shutdown depends, in part, on how long it lasts and which government functions are affected.

The White House has said funding could expire within days of a shutdown for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children — also known as WIC — which provides nutritional aid to low-income pregnant women and children up to age 5.

But some government programs have sufficient money on hand to continue functioning for weeks or months. The Medicaid health care program for lower-income residents, for example, already is funded through the end of December.  Some programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, aren’t affected because they are funded outside the normal appropriation bills.

Air Traffic Controllers, Federal Law Enforcement Officers and US Postal Service Employees would all keep working during a shutdown.

According to Hyllis Dauphinais, Chief Executive Officer at the Warm Springs Health & Wellness Center, Indian Health Service, for the first time in its history, has advanced appropriations for FY24, so there will be no impact to operations at the Warm Springs Clinic.