What You Need to Know About the Government Shutdown Temporarily Ending

The government is finally open -- at least for now.


So, what happens next? We've got some answers.

How long is the government opening for?

Three weeks.

The President announced the White House had reached an agreement with lawmakers to fund the affected government agencies -- about 25% of federal operations -- through February 15. Congress approved the deal, and Trump on Friday signed the short-term spending bill into law. (Lawmakers already had separately funded the other three-quarters of the federal government through September.)

The latest deal includes no money for a wall along the US-Mexico border, meaning it's the same agreement Trump could have inked more than a month ago.

What happens after three weeks?

Democrats and Republicans will continue to discuss border security, and lawmakers have three weeks to reach an agreement that satisfies Trump's request for funding a border wall.


Or, the government will shut down again on February 16 -- taking us right back to where we started.

"Let me be very clear," Trump said in a speech Friday. "We really have no choice but to build a powerful wall or steel barrier."

When are employees expected back at work?


What's happening at the airports?

Flight delays at airports on Friday played an important role in Trump's decision to back down, at least for now, from his demand for wall funding and to reopen the government, a White House official said.

Now that the government is fully open, delays that cropped up throughout the 35-day shutdown may ease up a bit. Air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration employees know they'll get paid soon, so there will likely be a lot fewer unscheduled absences.

But don't expect everything to get back to normal just yet. For starters, it'll likely be a few days before air traffic controllers, who work for the Federal Aviation Administration, and TSA employees are paid, meaning many may still be feeling financial strain.

Also, the Oklahoma City training academy for air traffic controllers was closed during the shutdown, meaning chronic understaffing of employees who do routine tasks didn't ease at all during that time.

And because the spending bill only offers a temporary solution, there's a chance that employees might be sick of the uncertainty and decide to find other jobs.

What's the situation with weather forecasting?




"This is lost time that cannot be made up," Suru Saha, a computer modeler who was furloughed, told CNN. "It's gone, and it will affect future operations."




Are the national parks open?

It depends.

About a third of the national parks, like Fort McHenry in Baltimore and the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington, were completely closed for the entire shutdown. Those parks will open as soon as they're told by Interior Department officials to do so, said Kristen Brengel of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Parks that stayed open but experienced significant damage, like California's Joshua Tree National Park and Death Valley National Park, might leave some areas closed to the public for repair or cleanup.

Other parks, like Mount Rainier in Washington state, weren't maintained at all while the government was shut down. That means there's significant work to do before they're ready for public visitors again.


When will federal workers get paid?





Are contractors getting back pay?


Contractors aren't guaranteed back pay, and whether they get paid for the past month is up to their employers.


Will charities that were aiding federal workers keep up the help?

Some will.



