Congressional Republicans and Democrats failed to pass a continuing resolution to maintain government funding at current levels on Tuesday. As a result, the federal government "shut down" on Wednesday morning. Some federal services and agencies might be put on hold, but the vast majority of the federal government, including all of its mandatory wealth transfers and obligatory payments, will remain unaffected.
During the shutdown, agencies that don't fund themselves or haven't received additional funding via a standalone bill must furlough non-excepted employees and stop their non-essential operations. Employees who render "essential services related to national security and public safety, like inpatient and emergency medical care, air traffic control, law enforcement, border security, disaster aid, and power grid maintenance" are excepted employees who will continue working (though these services may face disruptions), according to Rep. Ami Bera (D–Calif.). Also excepted are the 2.07 million "active-duty military personnel, as well as reserve component personnel on federal active duty, [who] must continue to report and carry out assigned duties," explains the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). However, nearly 407,000 of the roughly 741,000 civilians employed by the Defense Department are expected not to be furloughed, as they are either excepted or not funded through annual appropriations.*
