How the government shutdown is affecting LGBTQ+ people — and what bad legislation is upcoming

The federal government shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history, and it’s affecting LGBTQ+ people like everyone else — and in some cases, a bit harder.

Then, when Congress considers appropriations bills to fund federal operations for the coming fiscal year — separate from the continuing resolution that will eventually put the government back in business for at least a little while — there are anti-LGBTQ+ provisions to worry about.

Although there aren’t hard numbers, the federal government workforce likely has a larger proportion of LGBTQ+ people than the American workforce overall, says David Stacy, vice president of government affairs at the Human Rights Campaign. Many of these employees are considered essential and are working without pay. By law, those working without pay and those furloughed are entitled to back pay once the shutdown ends. But the Trump administration has sent signals it may — unlawfully — try to get out of paying back wages to furloughed workers. About 730,000 federal employees are working without pay, and 670,000 are on furlough. The federal workforce overall numbers about 3 million.

The administration is also trying to fire thousands of workers during the shutdown. That’s been blocked by a federal judge, but the administration will likely appeal — and it’s been known to not comply with court orders.

Then there are the federal programs on which many Americans depend. A key one is the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps low-income people buy groceries. Two federal courts have ordered the administration to find a way to provide either full or partial SNAP benefits during the shutdown. Officials at the Department of Agriculture, which runs the program, previously said they will release only enough emergency funds to cover half of recipients, although more money is available. Donald Trump even said Tuesday that his administration would not fund SNAP at all until the shutdown ends, but other officials walked back that comment. On Friday, the government seemed ready to fully fund November benefits.

LGBTQ+ people are disproportionately affected by interruptions to SNAP — about 15 percent of LGBTQ+ adults received SNAP benefits in the past year, compared to 11 percent of non-LGBTQ+ ones, according to the Williams Institute, a think tank at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law.

Related: USDA website blames SNAP benefits expiring on trans people, immigrants amid shutdown

Related: 'It makes you angry:' LGBTQ+ food pantries prepare for end of SNAP benefits

Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are continuing to operate during the shutdown, and benefits under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, remain available. But the ACA is one of the main points of contention that has led to the shutdown. Subsidies for health insurance plans bought through the ACA marketplace are set to expire at the end of the year, and that would lead to a huge increase in premiums for many policyholders — and premiums are already going up to reflect increased health care costs. Democrats in Congress say they want an agreement that the subsidies will be extended before they agree to a stopgap budget measure. Most Republicans are resisting, but a few are open to negotiations.

It's not clear how many LGBTQ+ Americans rely on the ACA for coverage, but given that they are less likely to have insurance through their employers than their straight and cisgender peers, they may be disproportionately affected by the end of subsidies.

As a condition of reopening the government, Democrats also want to see the restoration of the nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts (over the next decade) that was part of the budget bill signed into law by Trump last summer. Medicaid provides health insurance for low-income Americans, and 13 percent of LGBTQ+ adults receive their coverage under Medicaid, compared to 7 percent of non-LGBTQ+ adults, according to the Williams Institute.

“Historically, shutdowns end when the public picks a side,” Stacy says. The Democrats seem to have an edge right now, he adds.A bipartisan group of Congress members has begun meeting to discuss how to end the shutdown.

Then there’s the matter of appropriations bills, which actually provide the money authorized by Congress. Republicans have attached many anti-LGBTQ+ provisions to these bills, just as they did in the previous session of Congress. These provisions are known as riders because they have nothing to do with the primary purpose of the bills.

“It’s the same show again,” Stacy says. The riders include drag bans, gender-affirming care bans, “license to discriminate” provisions, transgender-exclusionary sports policies, bans on civil rights enforcement, restrictions on Pride flag displays, and much more. The Senate has moved all appropriations bills through committee, and they’re clean of riders, but the House has not, Stacy notes.

Last year, 51 of 52 anti-LGBTQ+ riders were removed from appropriations bills, and the only one that made it through was a limited restriction on Pride flags at U.S. embassies — something House Speaker Mike Johnson still celebrated as a major victory.

“So far Democrats have been holding the line” in opposing anti-LGBTQ+ riders, Stacy says. He doesn’t expect any such riders to be included in the continuing resolution. It will likely be a narrow deal to put the government back in operation, he says.

To make sure these riders won’t be approved — and to urge an end the shutdown with vital assistance programs intact — Stacy encourages everyone to contact their U.S. representatives and senators. If you don’t know who yours are, it’s easy to find them by entering your address at Congress.gov.