Below is a brief posting covering the current status of the shutdown, including  information on the potential impacts the government shutdown may have on you personally and agencies that impact you or your work.  Please click on the links for more detailed information.

As the shutdown of the federal government unexpectedly continues, the costs and impact grows.  The politics continue to constrain the House Leadership’s ability to move forward with a clean continuing resolution (CR) – meaning a spending bill that contains no (or few) policy riders.

Despite the impasse and difficulties, there are signs that something may happen.  Moderate House Republicans want the crisis to end and are pushing for a clean CR., feeling that a clean CR is inevitable. With public opinion placing blame on the Republicans in the House for the shutdown, President Obama made clear that he will not negotiate until the House agrees to a CR without policy riders and agree to raise the debt ceiling.  Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) stated the Senate would accept the House funding levels, which continue the cuts from sequester and are below Senate funding levels.

So what is the actual impact of the shutdown on government agencies?  How it may impact your daily life.  Who keeps working? Essential employees (the definition is not clear cut) remain at work.  However, non-essential employees are not working.  The Office of Management and Budget released a shutdown plan (you can get links for full details on furloughs and plans for every federal office at this site) that covers all federal departments and agencies.  National parks, museums, and monuments are closed, and new patients are being turned away from clinics at NIH.  Employees at many scientific agencies, including NIH, DOE, NSF, USDA (look at agencies’ links), Commerce, Interior, EPA and NASA are on furlough to varying degrees.

Criticism of the shutdown comes from the scientific community and higher ed.  ED is furloughing most employees, although major student aid programs (not necessarily smaller ones) are expected to escape mostly unscathed, if the shutdown ends relatively soon.

Meanwhile, the shutdown is not cost-free.  It is not saving the government money, but costs more than running the government.  Past shutdowns have cost the government billions of dollars. One estimate puts the daily cost of the shutdown at $300 million.