NCJW: Families Paid Devastating Price in Longest Shutdown in History With Nothing But Empty Promises to Show for It
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, November 12, 2025
PRESS CONTACT: press@ncjw.org
WASHINGTON, DC — This evening, the United States House of Representatives voted to end the longest government shutdown in American history, agreeing to a Senate compromise that reopens the government but provides no concrete relief for the millions of American families who have suffered through nearly two months of economic devastation. The deal, which includes only a non-binding promise of a future vote on Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, leaves 24 million people facing doubled health insurance premiums with no guaranteed path to affordability.
In response, Jody Rabhan, executive vice president at National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) — the nation’s leading Jewish feminist civil rights organization, representing 250,000 changemakers across the United States and Israel — released the following statement:
“As we emerge from the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history, we must reckon with a devastating reality: working families — and, in particular, women and children — suffered immeasurably, and they have nothing to show for it. Mothers stretched their last dollars to feed their children. Federal workers, many of them women who are the primary breadwinners for their families, stood in food bank lines. Pregnant women and new mothers lost access to critical nutrition support. More than 58,000 children lost care, learning, and stability through Head Start. And in the end, Congress simply shrugged — leaving millions at risk of losing their health care.
“Our Jewish tradition teaches us ‘Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa’ — do not stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds. For 43 days, American families bled while Congress played political games. And now, after all that suffering, we get empty promises of a future vote on health care subsidies — which does nothing for the 24 million people facing unaffordable premiums right now.
“At National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), we know that when government fails, it is more often women who stretch every dollar further, who skip meals so their children can eat, who postpone their own health care, and who absorb the impossible choices that policymakers force upon them. While federal workers will finally receive the pay they are owed, and many in critical roles who were illegally terminated will be rehired, the rest of the American people did not deserve the devastating impacts that this shutdown has caused to their families. With the government now funded, NCJW advocates across the country will continue to demand immediate action on an ACA subsidy extension — not promises, not procedural votes, but real relief for real families across the country who cannot afford to wait another day.”
This government shutdown has had a devastating toll on millions of families across the country:
- The Congressional Budget Office estimates $7-14 billion in permanent economic losses by the end of November
- The shutdown is projected to reduce national GDP by 1-2 percentage points
- Over 1 million federal employees have been working without paychecks, and an additional 600,000-730,000 federal workers have been furloughed
- Federal employees have been turning to food banks to feed their families — one Maryland food pantry saw lines of federal workers, and a Kansas military food pantry saw a 300% increase in traffic
- ACA premiums have more than doubled for 24 million enrollees receiving financial assistance due to Congress’s failure to extend enhanced premium tax credits
- More than 4.4 million small-business owners and self-employed people will each lose an average of $1,500 in tax credits
- People with disabilities—who are 50% more likely to be self-employed—face being priced out of health coverage entirely
- 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP benefits had their food assistance frozen on November 1
- After court intervention, benefits resumed but at only 50% of normal amounts and with significant delays
- Veterans and military families have been increasingly relying on food assistance, with the Armed Services YMCA seeing a 34% increase in food requests
- More than 58,600 children in 134 Head Start centers across 41 states and Puerto Rico lost access to early education programs starting November 1
- Over 75,000 college and trade school students who are dependents or survivors of military members have had tuition payments paused
- 7.5 million students with disabilities are at risk as the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education lost all but a handful of employees during shutdown layoffs
- Plus, the Office for Civil Rights was reduced to approximately 120 employees to handle nearly 23,000 annual cases — almost 190 cases per employee
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National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a 133-year-old Jewish feminist civil rights organization working for equity and justice for women, children, and families in the United States and Israel. Through the efforts of our 250,000 grassroots advocates and 46 local sections, NCJW combines education, direct service, and advocacy to effect lasting social change at the local, state, and national levels. We approach our work through the intersections of gender, economic, and racial justice to center those most impacted in a uniquely Jewish way. Learn more at NCJW.org and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.