With only three days to go before government funding expires, Congress is barreling toward a shutdown with the House and Senate at an impasse over a path forward.
The Senate is working to advance a bipartisan stopgap bill that would keep the government open through November 17 and provide additional aid to Ukraine and disaster relief. But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has so far dismissed that bill and is instead gearing up to have his chamber vote on a GOP stopgap bill with border provisions, though it’s not even clear that will have enough Republican votes to pass in the House.
As the September 30 shutdown deadline rapidly approaches, the federal government has begun preparing for its effects.
A shutdown could have enormous impacts across the country, in consequential areas ranging from air travel to clean drinking water, as many government operations would come to a halt, while services deemed “essential” would continue.
The nearly 4 million Americans who are federal employees will feel the effect immediately. Essential workers will remain on the job, but others will be furloughed until the shutdown is over. None will be paid during the impasse. For many, a shutdown would strain their finances, as it did during the record 35-day funding lapse in 2018-2019.
Democratic and Republicans alike have been highlighting the potential impacts of a shutdown as they warn against a lapse in funding.
“It’s important to remember that if we shut down the government – for those of us who are concerned about the border and want it to be improved – the border patrol … have to continue to work for nothing,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said at a news conference Wednesday.
US Border Patrol agents are considered essential and will continue to perform their law enforcement functions, including apprehending migrants…
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