Government Shutdown: What's Open, What's Closed

By Susan Larson

Today is the 123rd anniversary of Yosemite National Park, but no one will be allowed to visit. Tourists to Washington, DC are also out of luck at the Smithsonian. And don't try to visit the D.C. baby panda via pandacam, either.

All national parks, national monuments and wildlife refuges are closed due to the government shutdown, including the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the Manassas National Battlefield Park, George Washington Birthplace National Monument and most of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. Washington's Smithsonian museums are also closed.

Other consequences:

• Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and unemployment insurance are considered mandatory spending and will be paid.  There could be delays in processing new applications.
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, will continue to be distributed in October under authority granted by the 2009 stimulus bill, the USDA said.
• Doctors will see Medicare and Medicaid patients.
• Veteran’s hospitals will stay open.
• The U.S. Postal Service is an independent agency, so mail will continue to be delivered.
• The Federal Reserve is a self-funded agency and so will remain operational.
• The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), air traffic control and border patrol officers would stay on duty.
• Federally provided school lunches should be able to continue through the end of October, the USDA said.
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, which provides food to 8.9 million low-income women and children, will be out of money, staff said.  
  
• People who received a six-month filing extension on their taxes still must pay by Oct. 15. The Internal Revenue Service said it would suspend all audits, and taxpayer services, including toll-free help lines, would be closed.