Shutdown puts Kansas City paychecks and services at risk
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Kansas Citians are feeling the effects of the first government shutdown since 2019, with federal workers facing delayed paychecks, Social Security services slowing and families bracing for higher health care bills.
The big picture: Kansas City has over 30,000 federal workers. The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 guarantees back pay, but bills don't wait.
Case in point: "It's devastating to find ourselves here again; pawns in a huge and consequential budget game that we're bearing the brunt of," Garth Stocking, a Kansas City–based Social Security technical expert and AFGE Local 1336 member, tells Axios.
- "This one feels different," Stocking said. "The very things Kansas Citians need from Social Security and other agencies are in danger. Services you expect and have been getting for 90 years — all that is in doubt."
- He added that SSA workers have been told to stop routine services during the shutdown, including benefit verifications, replacement Medicare cards and overpayment processing.
Zoom out: Social Security and Medicare benefits continue, but the SSA's September contingency plan furloughs 6,197 employees nationwide, pausing benefit verifications and new Social Security cards.
- SNAP benefits are covered through October, though extended disruptions could affect timing for families.
By the numbers: More than 417,000 Missourians and over 200,000 Kansans are enrolled in ACA marketplace plans. If Congress doesn't extend enhanced subsidies, premiums would more than double on average nationwide, according to KFF.
- That could add hundreds of dollars a month to family budgets in KC.
What they're saying: Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, who represents Missouri's 5th Congressional District, including Kansas City, called the shutdown "unnecessary and harmful" in an Oct. 1 statement.
- "If Congress does not extend Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits now, hundreds of thousands of people will lose their health care and millions more will see their costs skyrocket."
Go deeper: Here's a breakdown of how the shutdown is disrupting daily life nationwide, from layoffs to travel delays to which services stay open.