The longest federal shutdown in U.S. history may be over, but its impacts will continue toripple across Tampa Bay and throughout the country after hundreds of thousands of workers went unpaid, thousands of flights were canceled and food benefits for needy families were curtailed.
Congress this week approved a short-term spending plan to end the shutdown and President Donald Trump quickly signed it.But that spending plan only goes through Jan. 30. Most federal agencies will once again run out of money after that unless Congress approves a long-term spending plan before then.
Tampa Bay community groups stepped in to fill some of the gap left by federal servicesduring the shutdown. Many say they’re still seeing spikes in demand for food and housing assistance ahead of the holidays.
Here’s a snapshot of the shutdown’s immediate toll, by the numbers, in Tampa Bay and Florida:
43:days of federal government shutdown
1,100: approximate number of employees atTampa International Airport who went without pay.
155,000: number offederal workers in Florida who were furloughed or required to work with no pay. (As part of the short-term spending deal, almost all workers will get back pay.)
332: number of flights from Tampa canceledbetween Nov. 7 and Friday because of the shutdown. More cancellations areplanned over the coming week.
150,000: number ofTampa Bay residents whosefood benefits through the Supplementary Nutritional Assistance Program, known as SNAP, were in jeopardy or limited because of the shutdown. Many are still unsure how much help from the program to expect this month, though it is eventually set to return to normal.About 3 million Floridians rely on the federal benefits also known as food stamps.
241: number of callsreceived by the Crisis Center of Tampa Baythat mentioned the shutdown, with more than 25% of the calls coming from active duty military members or veterans primarily concerned with housing costs, utility and grocery needs.
50%: the increase in demand that Tampa Bay’s Metropolitan Ministries reported during the shutdown compared to last year for groceries and financial assistance (not including mortgage and utility bill help). The group served 120,000 additional meals over its yearly average.
24,700: number of Florida seniors who saw a delay in Social Security payment checks because of the shutdown, according to the White House.
$296 million: estimate of the amount of delayed Small Business Administration loan disbursements to Florida businesses for a monthlong shutdown, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
$911 million: the White House’s estimate of the weekly loss from Florida’s gross state product during the government shutdown.