IOWA, USA — The U.S. Congress has three days to reach a funding agreement before the government will be completely shut down on Sunday.
With a looming government shutdown, many Iowans are left wondering how this could impact them.
Members on both sides of the aisle recognize that a government shutdown would have widespread impacts on Iowans. Republican representative Zach Nunn has been working in D.C. for nearly two weeks now along with the rest of Congress.
Nunn told Local 5 he's been focused on appropriations, rather than a single overarching spending bill. The bills he's helped advance in the House would make some major cuts to specific areas of government.
"We're going to move forward with four bills this week. It's Defense, it's Homeland Security, it's Agriculture. And it's the State Department," Nunn said. "Those are four bills that we know are important, and they make up almost 80% of the federal spending. If we can get those to move forward, we are in a much better position as we head into the weekend.”
However, some Iowa Democrats believe the chances of these four bills being considered in the Senate are slim.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said if and when those cuts are made, they could impact some services Iowans depend on in daily life.
"The things that they have putting put in their proposals make, you know, devastating cuts," Hart said. "From food safety, to education, to law enforcement, to Head Start, to childcare, Meals on Wheels... there's just so many things that they are suggesting that should be cut as a way to get the government going again, and they are just not feasible," Hart said.
Regardless of what budget cuts get approved, a government shutdown would impact a variety of federal services.
While TSA workers, prisons guards and law enforcement officials would still have to work without receiving a paycheck, a large chunk of Iowa’s federal employees could be furloughed.
Iowa farmers could be impacted during their crucial harvest season. With the USDA being a federal agency, access to loans for farms would be stripped away during a government shutdown.
Payments for benefits like Social Security and Medicare would continue during a shutdown, but delays are possible.
Iowa families could also lose access to Head Start, the federal program that helps low-income families send their children to pre-school.
The last time the U.S. Government shutdown came in 2018 and lasted was a 34 days.