What's Affected by a Government Shutdown?

Congress has two jobs to do: pass a budget and pay its bills. Yesterday, Congress failed to fulfill its responsibility to pass a budget and as a result, much of the Federal government will shut down.

Below, find an overview of some of the government services and operations that will be impacted until Congress passes a budget to fund them again. For detailed information about US government operations, you can learn more at whitehouse.gov/omb/contingency-plans.

• Vital services that ensure seniors and young children have access to healthy food and meals may not have sufficient Federal funds to serve all beneficiaries in an extended lapse.
• Call centers, hotlines and regional offices that help veterans understand their benefits will close to the public.
• And, veterans’ compensation, pension, education and other benefits could be cut off in the case of an extended shutdown.
• Every one of America’s national parks and monuments, from Yosemite to the Smithsonian to the Statue of Liberty, will be immediately closed.
• New applications for small business loans and loan guarantees will be immediately halted.
• Research into life-threatening diseases and other areas will stop and new patients won’t be accepted into clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health.
• Work to protect consumers, ranging from child product safety to financial security to the safety of hazardous waste facilities, will cease. The EPA will halt non-essential inspections of chemical facilities and drinking water systems.
• Permits and reviews for planned energy and transportations projects will stop, preventing companies from working on these projects.
• Loans to rural communities will be halted.
• Hundreds of thousands of Federal employees including many charged with protecting us from terrorist threats, defending our borders, inspecting our food, and keeping our skies safe will work without pay until the shutdown ends.
• Hundreds of thousands of additional Federal workers will be immediately and indefinitely furloughed without pay.

The following services that will continue during the government shut down:

• Social security beneficiaries will continue receiving checks.
• The U.S. Postal Service will keep delivering mail.
• Active military will continue serving.
• Air traffic controllers, prison guards and border patrol agents will remain on the job.
• NASA Mission Control will continue supporting astronauts serving on the Space Station.

For more information:

• Here's how a government shutdown affects the American people
• President Obama: Congress Needs to Keep Our Government Open