INDIANAPOLIS — The longest government shutdown could soon be over, but what does that mean for Hoosiers?
Air travel, SNAP benefits and back pay are some of the most pressing questions that arise during and after a government shutdown. That's because even once the government officially reopens, leaders told WRTV it still takes a little while before things can really return to normal.
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“There’s going to be a ripple effect of this for a while," Emily Weikert Bryant, Executive Director of Feeding Indiana's Hungry, stated.
“It’s not something that you can flip a switch and everything is just back to normal like it never happened," Drew MacQueen, the Great Lakes Regional Vice President for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said.
That's the hard part.
“All the stuff working through the system… money has to come through and make its way to people," Dr. Deeb Kitchen, Chair of the Department of Applied Social Sciences and Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at Marian University, explained. "You know that doesn’t happen right when a vote happens.”
That likely will be the case for things like SNAP benefits.
“We have seen partial benefits issued… but what will have to happen in Indiana is presumably the state will have to issue the remainder of the November benefits," Weikert Bryant said. "But that may be another calculation on their end.”
That means it could be weeks before that money reaches people in need.
“It’s not a normal process, so I would imagine it’s going to take at least a little bit of time," Weikert Bryant explained.
“It’s going to be a challenging time for the next several months," MacQueen said.
The FAA said those same issues will hit air travel and those who work for TSA and air traffic control.
“It’s just not like, here's the money that we owed you - it’s going to take several months to get us paid properly," MacQueen said. "So it’s not like everything’s back to normal.”
Those lingering impacts could extend to air travelers as well.
“Understand it's not a light switch. You’ve got to get it back up and rolling again… hopefully they see nothing, hopefully it’s back to business as normal," MacQueen stated.
However long it takes, leaders told WRTV the issues will be resolved.
“Patience, everybody needs to have patience," MacQueen said.
“There will be a lot of stability that returns," Dr. Kitchen exclaimed.
If the House passes the federal spending bill, it will still have to make its way to President Trump's desk for him to sign. Once that happens, the government will begin calling back at least 670,000 furloughed workers who went unpaid for more than a month.
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Casey Zanowic is the In Your Community reporter for North Side Indy. She joined WRTV in July of 2025. Casey has a passion for storytelling and is ready to showcase impactful stories that make a difference in her community. Share your story ideas and important issues with Casey by emailing her at casey.zanowic@wrtv.com.
