What Happens if the Government Shuts Down?

usagov:

When Congress and the President can’t reach an agreement on the budget and federal agencies run out of funding, the government is required to shut down all non-essential services. When that happens, by law, federal employees aren’t allowed to work, except in emergency situations. This forces government activities to stop and affects a variety of services the general public receives from the government.

During past shutdowns—the longest of which ran for 21 days from 1995 into 1996—there were delays in issuing Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ checks, and passport and visa applications couldn’t be processed. All national parks and museums were closed, and clean-up at toxic waste sites stopped.

During shutdowns in the past, the postal service continued to operate, and government employees who handle national security continued to work as usual.

Congress and the President have until March 4 to pass a budget. If they do not come to an agreement, government agencies will run out of funding and shut down until a new budget is passed.

For more information, you can read a thorough report on the causes, processes, and effects of a government shutdown produced by the Congressional Research Service (PDF).

Introducing your federal government, now all service-y on Tumblr. Really, really nice.

Notes

  1. hiphophype reblogged this from rebeccam and added:
    Hahahahahahahaha
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  10. lookhigh reblogged this from brooklynmutt and added:
    Maybe a bit of shutdown has already begun, or they spoke too soon. The original usagov post is no longer available.
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