Everything you need to know about how a government shutdown works

[babylonsister]

Everything you need to know about how a government shutdown works

By Brad Plumer

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Not all government functions would simply evaporate come Oct. 1 — Social Security checks would still get mailed, and veterans' hospitals would stay open. But many federal agencies would shut their doors and send their employees home, from the Department of Education to hundreds of national parks.

Here's a look at how a shutdown would work, which parts of the government would close, and which parts of the economy might be affected.

Wait, what? Why is the federal government on the verge of shutting down?

Short answer: There are wide swaths of the federal government that need to be funded each year in order to operate. If Congress can't agree on how to fund them, they have to close down. And, right now, Congress can't agree on how to fund them.

To get a bit more specific: Each year, the House and Senate are supposed to agree on 12 appropriations bills to fund the federal agencies and set spending priorities. Congress has become really bad at passing these bills, so in recent years they've resorted to stopgap budgets to keep the government funded (known as "continuing resolutions&quot . The last stopgap passed on March 28, 2013, and ends on Sept. 30.

In theory, Congress could pass another stopgap this week. But the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House are at odds over what that stopgap should look like. The House version included an item that would defund Obamacare. The Senate's bill will almost certainly strip that provision out. So... we have a standoff.

lots more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/24/everything-you-need-to-know-about-a-government-shutdown/

[DGeorge]

1. "Social Security Checks"? I get direct deposit. Hell, even food stamps are debit cards now.