What Will Happen if the Government Remains Shut Down

If Congress fails to come to an agreement, the government shutdown that officially began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday would continue indefinitely. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers would be furloughed, affecting a wide range of government programs.

Critical services that protect “human life or property,” like air traffic control, and programs like the U.S. Postal Service that have alternate funding sources would continue.

Here are the outlooks for major federal agencies and some consequences of the last government shutdown, which lasted 16 days in October 2013:

Most of the nearly 8,000 employees would be furloughed, but the agency would continue essential services like emergency housing for the homeless and new loan endorsements for single family homes.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE 2013 SHUTDOWN

Loans to develop or rehabilitate rental units went unprocessed.

Most of its nearly 14,500 employees would be furloughed, according to the agency’s contingency plan. On Friday, however, the agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt, said the EPA has sufficient resources to operate through next week even if government financing expired and that all employees should plan on working.

2013 SHUTDOWN

Inspections at 1,200 water, hazardous waste and chemical sites were halted. Evaluations of potential health impacts of new industrial chemicals were discontinued. Reviews of pesticides for adverse effects on health and the environment were stopped.

Most of the department’s nearly 4,000 employees would be furloughed. Other than financial aid support, most of the department’s activities would come to a halt.

Of the department’s nearly 48,000 employees, 90 percent would be furloughed. Work would stall across a wide swath of scientific and economic agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Census Bureau and the International Trade Administration. Activities like fisheries management, patent processing and climate observation would continue.

2013 SHUTDOWN

Important monthly reports on trade, retail sales and construction were not released. Some technology exports were delayed.

More than 80 percent of its 15,000 or so employees would be furloughed. Most of the department would be closed, but unemployment compensation would continue.

2013 SHUTDOWN

Some 1,400 inspections to prevent workplace fatalities were delayed. Investigations to enforce workplace protections were delayed. Monthly employment and price reports were not released.

More than three-quarters of the roughly 70,000 employees would be furloughed. Unlike with previous shutdowns, national parks would remain open, but some services that require staffing, like campgrounds and full-service restrooms, would not operate. Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo would be closed beginning Monday.

2013 SHUTDOWN

Drilling permit applications were not processed. National parks and the Smithsonian closed. Data on natural disasters could not be gathered.

More than half the 88,000 or so employees would be furloughed. The Internal Revenue Service would exempt more employees from being furloughed than it normally would during a shutdown because it is tax filing season.

2013 SHUTDOWN

There was a much larger furlough of 80 percent of employees. Export certificates for alcohol were not issued. The IRS could not verify data for private-sector lenders. Tax refunds were delayed. Implementation of financial sanctions against countries like Iran and Syria were hampered.

Half its nearly 82,000 employees would be furloughed, including a vast majority of staff members at agencies that provide grants. Agencies with a substantial direct service component, like the Indian Health Service, would remain mostly open. Medicare would operate “largely without disruption,” according to the Health and Human Services contingency plan, and health care exchange activities would continue.

2013 SHUTDOWN

Approval of medical devices and drugs was delayed. Flu season surveillance and monitoring were cut back. New patients were prevented from enrolling in clinical studies. Head Start programs temporarily closed their centers. Food safety inspections were delayed.

The furlough would apply only to about half the department’s 740,000 civilian workers, but military personnel also would not be paid unless Congress voted to pay them (it did in 2013).

2013 SHUTDOWN

Contracts with small businesses dropped almost one-third. Thousands of hours were spent developing and implementing contingency plans and restarting full operations.

Less than half its 55,000 or so employees would be furloughed, leaving operations like air traffic control and hazardous material safety inspections largely intact.

2013 SHUTDOWN

Aircraft purchases and deliveries were delayed. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy closed for nearly three weeks. The latest guidance said the academy would now remain open in a shutdown.

More than 80 percent of the department’s 115,000 employees would be allowed to work through a shutdown because they have national security, law enforcement and criminal justice responsibilities.

Social Security recipients would continue to receive their benefits. Most of the agency’s 63,000 employees would continue to work.

A small share of the department’s 241,000 employees would be furloughed, including those who perform planning, research, policy, regulatory and training activities. Nearly all Customs and Border Protection; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Transportation Security Administration employees would remain at work.

Nearly 96 percent of the agency’s roughly 377,000 employees would continue to work. VA hospitals would remain open but functions like education assistance and case appeals would be delayed.

2013 SHUTDOWN

Progress in reducing the backlog of disability claims stalled. Support for military service members who were transitioning to civilian life was delayed.

The department has not released estimates for how many employees would be furloughed. According to a memo, passport services would continue, though passport offices in federal buildings affected by the shutdown could be closed.

Furlough data for the agency was not immediately available, but 69 percent of workers were furloughed in 2013.

2013 SHUTDOWN

National Nuclear Security Administration labs and plants as well as nuclear cleanup sites likely lost weeks of productivity.

Nutrition programs including food stamps (SNAP) and the program for women and children (WIC) would continue. Furlough data for the agency was not immediately available.

2013 SHUTDOWN

Home loan program decisions for low-income families were delayed.