At least for the time being, the partial federal government shutdown has been halted; but Rep. Dave Loebsack says it may take a while for things to get back to normal, whether the federal budget dispute is settled or not.

During a stop in Knoxville on a three-city tour of the Second District.,Loebsack was relieved to hear about the passage of a continuing resolution which will allow federal offices to re-open and employees to get paid again at least through mid-February.

But he tells KNIA/KRLS News many federal offices, including the Farm Services Agency, will need time to work through the pile of paperwork which built up during the delay, on top of the new or routine requests farmers will be bringing them.

“So the paperwork can get processed, all the things that farmers have to do whether the government is shut down or not. It’s going to be a big backlog facing a lot of these federal workers when they come back to work,” says Loebsack.

“But it’s a good thing that we are at the point where we are; we never should have gotten here in the first place, but we’re at a good point now.”