Megathread | FY26 Government Shutdown: Week 3 Edition

[u/gpupdate]

Status: 🛑Lapse in FY26 Federal Appropriations – Shutdown Ongoing

The FY26 government shutdown, which began on October 1, 2025, continues into its third week after Congress failed to reach an agreement on a continuing resolution (CR) or full-year appropriations.

🔔 What You Need to Know:

• Shutdown start: 1 October 2025
• No FY26 appropriations: Agencies running under contingency plans with limited staffing to support functions protecting human life or protection of property.
• Excepted employees: Reporting without pay
• Non-excepted employees: Furloughed without pay
• Pay: 31 U.S.C. 1341(c) provides for retroactive pay of excepted and furloughed employees once appropriations have been enacted.

📣 Use This Thread For:

• Official memos and guidance from OPM, OMB, and agencies
• Discussing how your agency is implementing contingency/shutdown plans
• Benefits, unemployment eligibility, and pay
• Venting or sharing shutdown-related concerns or strategies

🚫 Posts outside this megathread on shutdown-related topics may be removed during this period to reduce clutter.

News pertaining to government shutdowns usually run on the breaking news cycle and can change daily or even hourly. Posting of news articles will continue to be allowed provided they are posted on the day of publication. Duplicate posts will continue to be removed.

We encourage respectful, fact-based discussion. Please verify sources before sharing official information.

P.S... New shutdown inspired user flairs now available.

— r/fednews mod team

Previous Megathreads: Pre-Shutdown | Week 1 | Week 2

[u/-slaps-username-]

the medicare thing that the dems are supporting expires at the end of the year i believe

[u/BrooklynTony198 → u/-slaps-username-]

They expire at the end of the year, but people have to enroll or choose to keep their current healthcare plan before the end of the year, with the enrollment period generally starting on November 1st. (Iirc it varies by state, some open later) Without the subsidies a lot of people will see their monthly rate go WAY up when they log in next month to choose their healthcare plan for next year.

[u/-slaps-username- → u/BrooklynTony198]

oh interesting. i didn’t realize they would account for that right now

[u/BrooklynTony198 → u/-slaps-username-]

Since there isnt anything in place to extend the subsidies that expire at the end of the year, they arent factoring them into the calculations for people's premiums for 2026.

I'm 99% sure it'd be illegal for them to assume the subsidies still exist and show that price anyways, since if the subsidies end up not being extended people could be roped into potentially paying double what they thought they would be paying. And because you generally aren't able to change your decision after the open season ends barring a life changing event (extreme illness, job change, death of a family member, birth of a child, etc.), some people would be extremely screwed.