Family Values @ Work Responds to Government Reopening: Families Deserve Stability, Not Government Inconsistency

The federal government has reopened after the longest shutdown in our nation’s history—but the shutdown and the uncertainty it created left millions without clarity on the long-term future of vital programs like SNAP, deepening a sense of instability for households already stretched thin.

The shutdown—plus the ongoing cuts and threats to programs throughout the year—have set back the nation’s progress toward ensuring affordable access to care for all families, and the opportunity to thrive. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the shutdown alone will result in an estimated $7–14 billion in permanent economic losses by the end of November. Federal cuts have also pushed unnecessary burdens onto state and local governments, destabilizing systems that every community relies on.

Even with the government reopened, families are facing real losses. It is unconscionable that 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP saw their food assistance frozen, and that out-of-pocket costs for ACA premiums have more than doubled for 24 million enrollees because Congress failed to extend enhanced premium tax credits. These are not abstract numbers—they represent families whose budgets, health, and stability are still in crisis.

We have the resources in this country to care for everyone. The problem has never been scarcity—it has been political will. As the government resumes operations, we expect Congress to return to the work of governing in service of families: investing in solutions, expanding access to care, and strengthening the programs that enable every family to live with dignity and security.

The shutdown may have ended, but its consequences serve as a stark reminder: Americans deserve more than a government that lurches from crisis to crisis. They deserve a government that invests in them—consistently and equitably.