As you have no doubt heard, the United States government shut down at midnight (Eastern) October 1, 2013. There are many questions and concerns about this situation, but here are some basics.<\/p>\n
What happened?<\/strong> In short, Congress did not pass any of their appropriations bills. These bills provide money to various to federal agencies. Federal law requires agencies without these funding laws in place to close.<\/p>\n How long will this last?<\/strong> As with other shutdowns, this is largely up to the two major parties and their abilities to reach whatever deal is necessary to get the bills passed. If we look to history, the two most recent government shutdowns happened in the Clinton administration. One only lasted five days. The other lasted three weeks.<\/p>\n What\u2019s closed, what\u2019s opened?<\/strong> Not every public service is shut down entirely, as not every agency requires appropriations to function. Social Security and Medicare are not affected, active duty military continue to function, as does the Department of Defense, as do intelligence, law enforcement, and our embassies overseas. Some are only partially closed; U.S. Courts will be open for 10 days, for instance.<\/p>\n