US Government Enters Partial Shutdown After Congress Fails To Meet Budget Deadline: What Services Will Be Affected? Everything You Need To Know

A partial shutdown is likely to occur in the US within a month after the government did not agree to a full package of funds before the deadline of December. Nevertheless, legislators think that the shutdown will be resolved soon before the end of next week in case the House of Representatives adopts a Senate supported stopgap funding bill. Reports by the BBC and CBS News indicated that President Donald Trump affirmed that the Republicans and Democrats had agreed on five major bills on spending focusing on areas like the Defense, the Health and Human Services, the Treasury and the federal court system. In an effort to give time to negotiation, the Senate has passed funding to most federal agencies up to September, extending funding of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to a limited two weeks.

US Government Enters Partial Shutdown After Congress Fails To Meet Budget Deadline

The DHS funding was eliminated in the main package when the Democrats insisted on more intense control of the immigration enforcement policies. Though the Senate voted late about the bill local time, the House has not yet voted on the bill, and is not scheduled to resume business until Monday. Consequently, there is the likelihood of a brief partial shutdown of some agencies on the weekend due to the lapsing of funds on some agencies at midnight. According to lawmakers in Washington, no one wants a lengthy shutdown like the one in 2011, and there have been talks to be conducted in the next few days to solve all the remaining problems of DHS funding.

US Government Enters Partial Shutdown: What Services Will Be Affected? 

The closure will not be total but partial and most of the vital services will be maintained. Social security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP benefits, US postal service, national parks, Smithsonian museums and national zoo will be open. Vital federal Government employees like air traffic controllers, TSA officers, immigration agents and law enforcement workers will remain operational although most of them will work without pay until funds are reinstated. Staffing pressures could result in delays of air travel and some federal loan processing and administrative services may be suspended temporarily. Negotiators will further deliberate on the two week DHS extension and a house vote early next week may help end the partial shutdown in case it is passed.

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