Trump signs bill to end longest government shutdown in US history—What it means for Americans

US President Donald Trump signed the funding bill on Wednesday, bringing an end to the longest federal government shutdown in the nation's history. The US House of Representatives approved the Senate-backed bill earlier today in a 222-209 vote, with nearly every Republican, along with a handful of Democrats, voting in favour of it.

The move reopens the government after a 43-day standoff that disrupted food benefits for millions of Americans, halted paychecks for hundreds of thousands of federal workers and caused widespread delays across the country's air travel system.

The law will restore critical programmes such as SNAP funding and provide much-needed relief to federal workers and families affected by the historic shutdown.

Here’s what Americans can expect now that Donald Trump has signed the bill:

Federal workers to return to work

—The signing of the bill provides immediate financial relief and guarantees job security for roughly 1.4 million federal employees affected by the shutdown.

— Now that the government has reopened, some federal employees and contractors are expected to return to work as soon as Thursday morning, as ordered by the White House, BBC reported.

— The law may also reverse recent efforts by several agencies to implement staffing reductions during the shutdown, and prevent additional layoffs of federal employees through 30 January, as mentioned in the bill.

— The full impact of the 43-day-long closures, however, is still expected to affect Americans for weeks.

Will air travel return to normal?

Travellers may continue to experience the effects of the long US government shutdown on airports, as over 900 flights in and out of the US were cancelled today.

The US airports will return to normal operations gradually. It comes after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a reduction in flights at 40 of the country's largest airports, due to air traffic controllers calling out of work rather than working without pay, BBC reported.

Food assistance secured

One of the most immediate impacts of the shutdown was the threat to food benefits for 42 million people. Food stamp programme recipients will now receive their full benefits; however, the amount will vary by state. Here are the expected benefits mentioned in the bill:

— The deal would replenish the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP's contingency fund and fully fund the child nutrition programmes, including free and reduced-price school meals.

— The WIC food assistance programme, which supplies around 7 million pregnant women, new moms and young kids, will also receive $8.2 billion, an increase of $603 million over the past fiscal year, and its contingency fund will also be replenished.

— The law will also provide $460 million for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which serves more than 700,000 low-income senior citizens with monthly food boxes, CNN reported.

Public properties will be reopened

Public attractions such as National Parks, forests, landmarks, and other properties managed by the federal government will be reopened to the public after a prolonged closure.

Although staff will return to their normal duties, it remains unclear exactly when these properties will reopen. During the last US government shutdown, it took four days for the Smithsonian museums to reopen and operate as usual, BBC said.

Congressional and Supreme Court security

Concerns over the safety of lawmakers and their staff led to specific security allocations in the bill, which will now be put into action.

— An amount of $203.5 million is allocated to beef up security measures and protect members of the House and Senate in the package. It also provides funding to support Capitol complex physical security requirements and cybersecurity practices, CNN reported.

— An amount of $852 million is provided for the US Capitol Police, and an additional $28 million for the protection and security of Supreme Court justices.

Veterans medical care

The law is also expected to significantly boost funding for the medical care of veterans.

— The bill mentioned that upon enactment, it will provide $115 billion for discretionary Veterans Affairs’ medical care, an increase of over $2.3 billion from the prior fiscal year.

— The funding includes support for the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund, rural health, caregivers, women’s health, veterans’ homelessness prevention, mental health and child care.

New Congressional notification requirement

A provision was also included in the bill that mandated a new level of transparency from law enforcement.

— The deal requires the Justice Department and FBI to notify the Senate when a lawmaker is under investigation and if their personal information is being subpoenaed.

— The language follows Senate Republicans releasing FBI records related to an investigation called Arctic Frost, related to the fake elector scheme from 2020, where Trump allies pressured GOP electors to register electoral college votes for Trump from states that former president Joe Biden won.