Respect Students and Working Families. End the Shutdown.

Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have forced a government shutdown instead of working with Democrats to find a bipartisan solution and lower healthcare costs for working families and middle-income Americans. Some programs that support public education are temporarily shielded—but the longer the shutdown continues, the greater the risk of serious disruptions in learning.

Republicans are doing nothing to stop the healthcare cost increases that millions of working people and middle-class families are already starting to see. Some families may be forced to drop coverage altogether.

States will experience delays in funding for vital food assistance, including SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC, the supplemental nutrition assistance program for low-income women, infants, and young children. If funding stops, states may discontinue benefits for program participants, putting them all at risk.

Department of Defense Education Activity employees who teach and support students of families on military bases will go without pay during the shutdown. Similarly, payments to schools receiving Impact Aid on military bases, tribal lands, and other federally impacted areas will end during the shutdown.

While Pell grants and federal student loans will continue, with nearly 95% of Education Department staff furloughed, customer service, monitoring, data collection, and inquiries will halt. Investigations into civil rights complaints will stop and the Department will not issue new grants.

The shutdown is causing uncertainty and chaos for families and hundreds of thousands of federal employees across our nation. Congress must end this chaos by coming together to reopen the federal government.