Americans Fear Another Government Shutdown

However, the anxiety of a US government shutdown isn't something she's used to.

She's one of millions of Americans who breathed a sigh of relief when Washington politicians agreed to reopen the government earlier this week.

The 43-day shutdown was the longest in US history.

But that relief may not last long, as the funding agreement expires at the end of January, when Congress will once again face the same spending challenge.

"It really affects every part of your life when your family’s sole source of income comes from the federal government,” Ms Johnson said. "The uncertainty is crippling."

The Tennessee mother of two has lived in seven states since her husband joined the Army nearly 20 years ago.

Moving her family back and forth every three years means it's difficult for her—and the spouses of other military personnel—to find work, so the Johnson family lives on one salary.

Not knowing whether military personnel will receive pay from the government shutdown has forced her family to make difficult decisions.

Approximately 1.3 million active-duty military personnel are likely to serve without pay during the government shutdown, but the Trump administration intervened twice to redistribute funds to these service members during the autumn shutdown.

But due to the lack of certainty, many families have had to tighten their belts. One of Ms. Johnson's sons even offered to reduce his Christmas gifts—"It's okay, we don't need them," he told his mother.

Ms. Johnson is frustrated by this unnecessary sacrifice by millions of Americans.

“What was it all for? Why were we suffering for over 40 days in uncertainty, not knowing what was going to happen," she questioned. "What was the point? We’re just going to go through this again probably in January.”

The agreement reached by Congress this week funds the government for the next two months, guarantees that all federal employees will be paid during the shutdown, and funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – which provides food assistance to one in eight Americans – until next September.

Sierra Bird is one of more than 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP funds to feed their families.

The Florida mother of four receives about $900 each month, but her payments have been delayed due to a costly bill.

Ms. Bird said she "survived" during the shutdown and will have her SNAP card refilled over the weekend.

She hopes to return to some semblance of normality, but she also fears another shutdown, so she said she's started stockpiling food to prepare for any eventuality.

"People are going to take what they need if they don't have what they need," Ms Bird said. "Don't mess with people's food."

SNAP benefits have resumed, but one thing that hasn't returned is health insurance subsidies. This was the subsidy that Democrats said they were willing to fight for, and which prompted the shutdown in the first place.

Democrats had said they wouldn't approve the budget unless the subsidies continued. But on Tuesday, eight Democrats joined with Republicans to approve a spending plan without the subsidies.

"I swapped one stress for another," Ms Bird said. "I would rather have the affordable healthcare than Snap, because I can feed them rice and beans and survive, but I need my medications."

In addition to those struggling to make ends meet during the shutdown, more than 1.4 million federal employees went without pay for 43 days.

Sarah, an employee at the Utah Department of the Interior who requested her last name not be used, was one of them.

She was furloughed from the start of the shutdown on October 1st, and as the days and weeks passed, she began to worry that she would have to find another way to earn money.

"I was trying to decide if I wanted to give up the federal sector altogether to find another career," Sarah said.

As an archaeologist, she works in a unique and specialized role, making it difficult for her to transfer her expertise to another job or industry.

Her worries were allayed when she returned to work for the first time in weeks on Thursday, after the government reopened shops, but she is already preparing for the possibility of another return to work in January.

"With the holidays coming up, I'm not going to spending a whole lot of money," she said, noting she is putting off certain remodelling projects too.

"I would not be the least bit surprised if another shutdown happened."

In the less than 80 days until the next potential government shutdown, Ms Johnson, the military wife, said she would be preparing, just in case.

"We're making a huge effort to watch unnecessary spending and save money where we can so we have a bigger nest egg built up because if the government shuts down again in January there's no guarantee that active duty military is going to get paid."