Government shutdown looms if Congress doesn’t act: What to know

The federal government is facing the threat of a looming government shutdown that could cause federal workers to go without pay if Congress does not pass a funding bill by Saturday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.

Lawmakers in Congress are negotiating over a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that would extend funding on a short-term basis to allow negotiations over spending levels for the rest of fiscal year 2024 to play out and legislation to be passed.

House Republicans are divided over the duration of a CR and whether other provisions like border security measures, Ukraine funding and disaster aid should be attached. Senators have started crafting a bipartisan short-term CR, although the measure has not yet been introduced.

Any funding legislation will ultimately require bipartisan support to become law given Republican control of the House and the Democrats’ narrow majority in the Senate lacking the 60 votes needed to defeat a potential GOP filibuster. 

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A looming government shutdown could begin Sunday morning if Congress does not approve funding legislation. (Photo by KAREN BLEIER/AFP via Getty Images)

Additionally, unanimous consent from all 100 senators will be needed to bypass procedural hurdles that could potentially delay a vote on final passage beyond Saturday night’s deadline, even though the final vote need not be unanimous. Senators often use this dynamic to leverage votes on their preferred amendments in exchange for signing on to any unanimous consent agreement, which tends to occur as the funding deadline nears.

It is important to note that if Congress fails to approve spending before the deadline arrives, the entire federal government would not be shut down. Rather, federal agencies’ essential services continue with staff working without pay, while agencies’ non-essential services grind to a halt and those workers are furloughed for the duration of the lapse in funding. 

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The Office of Management and Budget works with each federal agency on contingency planning for a potential funding lapse – including by designating essential and non-essential services. 

Here is a look at which roles in the federal government would be affected by a shutdown and whether it would affect programs like Social Security and Medicare or veterans’ benefits.

What federal workers are deemed essential?

Federal workers involved with public safety are ordinarily deemed essential workers during a government shutdown and continue to work without receiving regular payments during the duration of the funding lapse.

Members of the military, federal law enforcement and border protection officers, in-hospital healthcare providers, air traffic controllers, Transportation Security Administration personnel, and power grid maintenance personnel are among those who would be deemed essential per the Congressional Research Service and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB).

Some agencies would deem only a small percentage of their workforces as essential to leave a skeleton staff on hand in the event of emergencies or to sustain vital services. 

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For example, the Small Business Administration would continue to handle disaster relief loan applications but would curtail other lending, while the Securities and Exchange Commission would keep 10% of its staff on hand in the event of a financial crisis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would furlough over half of its staff, so disease monitoring would continue even as other public health activities would stop.

Additionally, agencies funded by fees rather than the congressional appropriations process would continue to operate, such as the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Comptroller of the Currency.

Certain agencies like the National Park Service have had employees in certain roles designated as essential in some past shutdowns and non-essential in others, leaving it unclear at this time how those agencies would be impacted by a shutdown this weekend.

Transportation Security Administration security screeners are among the federal employees deemed essential during government shutdowns. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

What happens to non-essential workers?

During the shutdown of early 2018, roughly 850,000 out of 2.1 million non-postal federal employees were furloughed, which the CRFB notes would likely be a similar figure to the number of workers furloughed in a potential shutdown if one occurs this weekend.

Furloughed workers are prevented from working and are not paid until the funding lapse is resolved.

Before the shutdown of 2019, furloughed workers were not legally entitled to retroactive pay for work missed during a shutdown. However, in practice, Congress approved retroactive pay following past government shutdowns – often in the same legislation that ended the lapse in funding.

After a shutdown in FY2019, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act was signed into law which created a statutory requirement for retroactive pay for furloughed employees once the funding lapse is resolved, so furloughed workers will eventually be paid for missed time.

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Social Security payments would still be disbursed in a government shutdown. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images / Getty Images)

What happens to veterans benefits?

Veterans’ benefits are funded by Congress through what are known as advance appropriations – for example by including funding for FY2024 in legislation providing funding for FY2023 – so they typically experience little to no disruption during a government shutdown.

Veterans Affairs hospitals would continue to operate and would remain fully staffed, and veterans would still receive pension benefits and have other claims processed.

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How does a shutdown affect Social Security and Medicare?

Both Social Security and Medicare are mandatory spending programs funded outside the annual appropriations process that Congress uses to fund federal agencies each fiscal year.

As a result, Social Security checks would continue to go out to recipients while Medicare enrollees could still see doctors, go to the hospital and get prescriptions in the event of a shutdown. 

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Based on past shutdowns, it is possible that some services associated with these programs could be impacted – such as benefit verifications or providing replacement cards. 

Reuters contributed to this report.