As the federal government shutdown looks poised to enter its fifth week, Colorado officials are scrambling to sustain several federal programs, compelling the governor to ask the legislature for a cash infusion.

Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday requested the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee to allocate $10 million from the state’s General Fund to provide assistance to food banks and pantries and extend funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program.

The request would cover funding for both WIC and federal food stamp benefits officially known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through mid-December, if necessary.

Both programs have been frozen as a result of the shutdown.

According to a letter sent to regional SNAP directors by the USDA on Oct. 10, the agency’s funding for the programs will expire at the end of the month, meaning approximately 42 million Americans will not receive benefits for November.

Nearly 600,000 Coloradans received SNAP benefits in 2024, accounting for almost 10% of the state’s population.

Here are other programs, grants and benefits that Colorado receives that have been affected by the government shutdown:

• Financial aid for schools on government land: The Department of Education’s Impact Aid Program, which supports school districts located on federally-owned land, such as military bases or tribal lands exempt from local property taxes, has been suspended due to the shutdown. According to the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, Colorado receives about $50,000 in Impact Aid split between 12 school districts.
• Assistance for community health centers: Colorado is home to 21 community health centers, which provide health care to uninsured individuals and are funded through a combination of federal grants, state and local funds, and reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid. The Community Health Center Fund, which provides funding to the country’s community health centers, expired on Sept. 30. Colorado receives about $111 million a year from the fund. About 65% of the state’s community health centers are currently operating with negative margins, leading many to dip into reserves, consolidate clinic sites, and make layoffs, officials said. In an effort to keep some of those facilities afloat, Colorado legislators this year passed a bill allowing private donations to be made to the state’s designated fund for federally qualified health centers.
• Monthly jobs report delayed: The Bureau of Labor and Statistics has suspended all operations during the shutdown, delaying the release of its monthly jobs report, which the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment also uses. The bureau has also suspended its surveys and statistical activities related to employment, wages and labor conditions.
• Loans for small businesses: The U.S. Small Business Administration has frozen funding for its two core loan programs: 7(a), which provides up to $5 million in financial assistance to small businesses, and 504, a long-term, fixed-rate loan for major business assets, such as real estate and equipment. According to the SBA, due to the shutdown, an average of 46 small business loans in Colorado are going unapproved each week, resulting in a loss of $26,000 in potential funding every week.
• Some veteran services: While most of the Veterans’ Affairs operations have continued during the shutdown, some services, such as career counseling and the GI Bill hotline, have paused operations. The agency’s regional offices, including the one in Denver, are temporarily closed, and the VA’s Central Office has suspended outreach to community-based partners.
• Increased insurance premiums: A major point of contention among Democrats and Republicans in Congress are the enhanced tax subsidies for low-income Americans who purchase health insurance through the individual marketplace. The federal budget did not extend the tax credits enhancements adopted by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and extended by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022; hence, the subsidies, now smaller, would only be available to families with incomes below 400% percent of the federal poverty level. The enhanced credits are set to expire this December. According to the Colorado Division of Insurance, Coloradans could see their insurance premiums increase by 28% as a result, with those on the Western Slope potentially seeing a nearly 40% increase.