The shutdown is over, but you'll still feel it for a while

State of play: President Trump on Wednesday signed a bill that will fund the government until Jan 30.

• The deal will keep key agencies open through the fiscal year and reverse the mass layoffs that devastated career federal employees, but it won't reverse the broader damage the shutdown has created.

Here are some of the ways you may still feel the shutdown's effects:

Flight delays and cancellations

Flight disruptions could persist at major airports over the busiest travel holiday of the year, Thanksgiving.

• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters Tuesday that he won't reverse the air traffic restrictions until more air traffic controllers returned to work, which could take a while.

Flashback: It took at least two months for air traffic controllers "to be made whole" for missed compensation during the 2019 shutdown, said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

• Several controllers resigned last week, further exasperating staff shortages in a system that was already operating with "3,800 fewer fully certified controllers" than required, Daniels added.

SNAP benefits

Most SNAP recipients should receive their November benefits "within 24 hours for most States," a USDA spokesperson told Axios on Thursday.

• SNAP recipients have historically received their money despite a shutdown, but the Trump administration fought court orders to pay out full or partial benefits before the shutdown ended.
• Ed Bolen, a SNAP expert at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told Axios that there may be some delays because "only two companies handle all issuances around the country, and we are concerned that they may not be able to handle all the remaining states all at once."

National Parks and museums

National Park visitor centers and Smithsonian museums should reopen within days.

What they're saying: Visitors should expect some disruptions because parks have essentially "been in a coma for the last six weeks," said Bob Krumenaker, a spokesperson for the Association of National Park Rangers.

• "When someone revives from a coma, they don't instantly run a marathon. And so, the parks will take some time to get up to speed."
• Parks that have experienced bad weather will likely have some trails and dirt roads closed until staff can make sure they're safe, he added.
• He also noted that some parks have had to pause crucial monitoring work such as checking in on delicate ecosystems or gauging invasive species growth, which could have consequences for years to come.

Federal workers' pay

Back pay for federal workers should start rolling out by Saturday and be completed by Nov. 19, according to an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) document reviewed by Semafor.

• Caleb Quakenbush, a spokesperson for the Bipartisan Policy Center who specializes in government operations, told Axios that after prior shutdowns, "backpay was processed at the earliest date possible" and that there is "no indication at this time that this shutdown will be different.

Yes, but: Unlike federal workers, federal contractors are significantly less likely to be guaranteed back pay, according to Quakenbush.

Veterans and Social Security

Social Security staff was slashed earlier this year and many local offices were shuttered, leading to long wait times and delays in benefits even before the shutdown.

• While payments for enrolled beneficiaries continued, the shutdown slowed or stopped processing of some in-person requests and select services at both the Veteran Benefits and Social Security Administrations, and it may take a while to clear the backlog.
• "If you need help, if you need to change some information about your benefits, you're going to wait a very long time. …You'll listen to a recording, you'll listen to some music, but you won't be able to talk to somebody that can help you," said Max Richtman, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program

Approximately 6 million households who rely on the federal program for heating assistance haven't received benefits as temperatures across the country have dipped.

Threat level: The program has never been interrupted by a government shutdown at the outset of cold weather season, according to Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA).

• "We're very concerned that funds won't get out to families until winter is well underway," he said.
• "They turn the heat down too low, they become sick. There are a lot of health implications of further delay in the release of funds."

By the numbers: Roughly one in six, or 21.5 million households, are behind on their energy bills, according to a NEADA report, an estimate that could worsen as electricity bills skyrocket.

Go deeper: Economy could lose $14 billion from prolonged government shutdown, CBO warns