Shutdown Is Over but Things Aren't Back to Normal

The longest government shutdown in US history is officially over after 43 days, but reopening the government isn't as simple as flicking a switch. Federal workers say there will be weeks of backlogs to get through before things at many agencies can return to normal—though issues including mass layoffs had made operations difficult at some agencies even before the shutdown. "It's going to be stressful for everybody," CDC employee Yolanda Jacobs, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2883, tells CNN. "We can only begin to imagine how difficult it's going to be to get everything functioning again, especially since we were already limping along in a lot of ways before the shutdown happened."

• Flights. Airlines say they will be ready to return to normal operations when enough air traffic controllers return to work and the FAA lifts restrictions at 40 airports, NBC News reports. A longstanding controller shortage, however, remains, and experts tell NPR that the effects of the shutdown could complicate travel during Thanksgiving week. Many younger controllers ended up quitting during the shutdown, and many older ones decided to retire.

• SNAP. The shutdown caused massive disruption to the food stamps program 42 million Americans rely on, and November benefits were distributed unevenly due to shifting court rulings and administration policies, the AP reports. Most states have issued partial benefits or none at all, and it could take up to a week for recipients to receive full benefits.
• The IRS. The Internal Revenue Service has one of the biggest backlogs of work and it could take two to three months to catch up. "You're talking about more than 40 days of mail that no one touched," Gibson Jones, president of the National Treasury Employees Union Local 98, tells CNN. "People who are expecting money back will also see a delay in processing those tax refunds."
• National parks. National parks remained open, at least partially, during the shutdown, but with far fewer staff than normal, NPR reports. The National Parks Conservation Association says it could take months to deal with damage to "vulnerable and unprotected" parks. Some parks were vandalized and services will be hit by the failure to collect millions of dollars in entrance fees.

• Pay for federal workers. The AP reports that around 1.25 million federal workers haven't been paid since Oct. 1, which adds up to around $16 billion in missed wages. Furloughed employees were expected to return to work Thursday and administration officials say back pay owed to the workers should be in by next Wednesday, though it will vary by agency.
• Trouble ahead. Federal workers might have to deal with another shutdown in the near future. "There's no back to normal in this deal because all it does it kick the can until January 30," Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service nonprofit, tells CNN. "It's a little like the federal workforce is going to return to their house after a hurricane and there's another storm on the horizon."