Up to 800,000 federal employees could be furloughed as services deemed "non-essential," such as national parks, passport offices and most regulatory agencies -- including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Securities and Exchange Commission -- are closed.There's more at the link.
If the federal government closes for business Tuesday, non-essential employees would be furloughed without pay. "Essential" workers-- such as military personnel, border security officials and air traffic controllers -- would be told to report to work. They wouldn't receive paychecks during the shutdown but would be paid retroactively after Congress passes a government funding bill.
Mail would be still be delivered, Social Security checks still be would sent out and airports would remain open. New Medicare applicants likely would have to wait to be enrolled, though a shutdown isn't expected to affect medical services for those already in the program.
But a shutdown likely would shutter national parks, museums and monuments, including all Smithsonian Institution museums, as well as passport offices and visa application centers.
Tomorrow is also the day the rollout of Obamacare is supposed to take place. By all reports it will not be smooth. Ramirez thinks it'll be, well, here's what he thinks:
