The government shutdown will become the longest-running shutdown in modern American history if the Senate fails to reopen it by the evening of Nov. 4, continuing a long period of uncertainty for Indiana's 24,000 civilian federal workers and the hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers who won't receive full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits this month.

For 35 days, most federal workers have gone without pay as money dries up across critical agencies.

Even if the shutdown ends, it's unlikely funding would return in time for Hoosiers to receive full SNAP benefits by Nov. 5, when the first group of recipients was supposed to get its monthly allotment. It marks the first time the program has lapsed in recent history even under previous government shutdowns.

Still, recipients can

See Full Page