As Congress continues to negotiate on the serious issue of the federal government shutting down, Congressman Smith remains committed to controlling as much spending as possible to address the annual trillion dollar deficits we have seen over the past five years (the most in our history), and helping remove uncertainty for workers and private-sector job creators. It remains unclear how long a shutdown would be.
The executive branch, not Congress, determines which executive branch activities are carried out during a lapse in appropriations, and therefore the information below is subject to change. As Congressional Research Service Report RL34680 notes, “Previous determinations of excepted activities and personnel would not necessarily hold for any future shutdown.”
Below are links to answers for frequently asking questions (FAQs) during a federal government shutdown:
- Veterans (pensions, survivor benefits, VA hospitals and services)
- Military (military operations, pay, equipment/supplies)
- International Affairs (U.S. embassies overseas)
- Benefits (Social Security, Medicare, Disability, unemployment, Food Stamps, school lunches)
- Federal Services (U.S. Post Offices, national parks & museums)
- Administration (President, Treasury)
- Law Enforcement and Federal Assistance (FBI, FEMA etc.)
- Travel (U.S. Passports, borders agents, customs Air traffic controllers)
- Federal Projects and Operations (Prisons, contractors, courts, etc.)
- Miscellaneous (Examples of exemptions is various U.S. Departments)
