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Effect on government services
I wonder what the fallout would be if the government REALLY actually shutdown? How can all of these things below still be available if the "government is shutdown"?
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Park-goers-poor-will-be-first-hurt-by-shutdown-4857709.php#page-3
Effect on government services
How services will be affected by a federal government shutdown:
Recreation: All national parks closed. Visitors using overnight campgrounds in Yosemite and other national parks would have 48 hours to leave. In the Bay Area, Alcatraz Island, Muir Woods, the Presidio visitors center and Fort Point would close.
Air travel: Federal air traffic controllers would remain on the job, and airport screeners would keep funneling passengers through security checkpoints.
International travel: The State Department would continue processing foreign applications for visas and U.S. applications for passports. Embassies and consulates overseas would continue to provide services to U.S. citizens.
Benefit payments: Social Security and Medicare benefits would keep coming, but there could be delays in processing new disability applications. Unemployment benefits would still be paid.
Federal courts: They would continue operating normally for about 10 business days after the start of a shutdown. If the shutdown continues, the judiciary would have to begin furloughs of employees whose work is not considered essential. Cases would continue to be heard.
Mail: Deliveries would continue as usual.
Food assistance: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children could shut down. The program provides supplemental food, health care referrals and nutrition education for pregnant women, mothers and their children. School lunches and breakfasts would continue to be served, and food stamps would continue to be distributed. Several smaller food programs would not have the money to operate.
Taxes: Americans would still have to pay their taxes and file federal tax returns, but the Internal Revenue Service would suspend audits. Taxpayer services, including toll-free help lines, would be shut as well.
Loans: The Federal Housing Administration, which guarantees about 30 percent of home mortgages, wouldn't underwrite or approve any new loans. Action on government-backed loans to small businesses would be suspended.
Science: NASA would keep workers at Mission Control in Houston and elsewhere to support the International Space Station. The National Weather Service would keep forecasting, but the scientific work of the U.S. Geological Survey would be halted.
Homeland security: Most of the Department of Homeland Security's employees would stay on the job.
Military: The military's 1.4 million active-duty personnel would stay on duty. About half of the Defense Department's civilian employees would be furloughed.
Veterans services: Most services offered through the Department of Veterans Affairs would continue. Veterans would still be able to visit hospitals for inpatient care, get mental health counseling at vet centers or get prescriptions filled at VA health clinics. But veterans appealing the denial of disability benefits to the Board of Veterans Appeals would wait longer, because the board would not issue decisions during a shutdown.
Work safety: Federal occupational safety and health inspectors would stop workplace inspections except in cases of imminent danger.
How services will be affected by a federal government shutdown:
Recreation: All national parks closed. Visitors using overnight campgrounds in Yosemite and other national parks would have 48 hours to leave. In the Bay Area, Alcatraz Island, Muir Woods, the Presidio visitors center and Fort Point would close.
Air travel: Federal air traffic controllers would remain on the job, and airport screeners would keep funneling passengers through security checkpoints.
International travel: The State Department would continue processing foreign applications for visas and U.S. applications for passports. Embassies and consulates overseas would continue to provide services to U.S. citizens.
Benefit payments: Social Security and Medicare benefits would keep coming, but there could be delays in processing new disability applications. Unemployment benefits would still be paid.
Federal courts: They would continue operating normally for about 10 business days after the start of a shutdown. If the shutdown continues, the judiciary would have to begin furloughs of employees whose work is not considered essential. Cases would continue to be heard.
Mail: Deliveries would continue as usual.
Food assistance: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children could shut down. The program provides supplemental food, health care referrals and nutrition education for pregnant women, mothers and their children. School lunches and breakfasts would continue to be served, and food stamps would continue to be distributed. Several smaller food programs would not have the money to operate.
Taxes: Americans would still have to pay their taxes and file federal tax returns, but the Internal Revenue Service would suspend audits. Taxpayer services, including toll-free help lines, would be shut as well.
Loans: The Federal Housing Administration, which guarantees about 30 percent of home mortgages, wouldn't underwrite or approve any new loans. Action on government-backed loans to small businesses would be suspended.
Science: NASA would keep workers at Mission Control in Houston and elsewhere to support the International Space Station. The National Weather Service would keep forecasting, but the scientific work of the U.S. Geological Survey would be halted.
Homeland security: Most of the Department of Homeland Security's employees would stay on the job.
Military: The military's 1.4 million active-duty personnel would stay on duty. About half of the Defense Department's civilian employees would be furloughed.
Veterans services: Most services offered through the Department of Veterans Affairs would continue. Veterans would still be able to visit hospitals for inpatient care, get mental health counseling at vet centers or get prescriptions filled at VA health clinics. But veterans appealing the denial of disability benefits to the Board of Veterans Appeals would wait longer, because the board would not issue decisions during a shutdown.
Work safety: Federal occupational safety and health inspectors would stop workplace inspections except in cases of imminent danger.
