In another unusual move, OMB has yet to post
agencies’ shutdown contingency plans on its website, even though the federal government’s funding will lapse in less than a week unless Congress acts. In its memo, OMB wrote that it had received updated lapse plans from “many, but not all” agencies to date. The plans detail which functions and employees are deemed essential during a shutdown and will continue despite the impasse. Those workers remain on the job, though many are not paid until Congress agrees to appropriate funding.
Every government shutdown is different,
but key services – including Social Security payments, law enforcement, air traffic control and border patrol – continue uninterrupted. Previous shutdowns have closed national parks and museums; stalled food inspections; canceled immigration hearings; and delayed some federal lending to homebuyers and small businesses, among other impacts.