Federal agencies continue some operations as funding lapses

Federal agencies on Wednesday enacted their contingency plans for a halt in government funding while Congress remained gridlocked over spending plans. Senators failed to pass a short-term spending extension by their Tuesday deadline, the last day of the government’s fiscal year. Without approved funding, agencies put many services deemed nonessential on pause and furloughed hundreds of thousands of employees.

How are government agencies operating during the shutdown?

• State Department: More than half of its nearly 27,000 employees are furloughed during the shutdown. But budget prep work, consular activity—including passport services—and national security work continue.

• Defense Department: Active-duty military and national defense operations are carrying on as normal. About half of the department’s civilian personnel were placed on furlough.

• Justice Department: Law enforcement and the judicial branch continue work, though at a reduced capacity. Criminal litigation continues, though most civil cases are postponed. About 89% of its staff are still at work.

• Homeland Security Department: About 95% of its employees are on furlough. The Coast Guard, Secret Service, and law enforcement continue work—including immigration enforcement and counterdrug operations. The department is also continuing port of entry inspections, counterterrorism work, and emergency response services.

• Education Department: About 2,000 of its employees are on furlough, while roughly 500 continue to work. Federal aid and grant funding are still flowing, and the department is still processing payments on student loans. No new grants will be awarded during the shutdown.

• Health and Human Services Department: Medicare and Medicaid support continues, along with disease preparedness programs and FDA reviews of drugs and medical devices. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has paused most health communications, and the National Institutes of Health are not admitting new patients unless medically necessary. A little under half of the department’s employees are on furlough.

• Interior Department: Most national parks are expected to use recreation fees to continue basic services with a skeleton crew. Wildfire suppression and land protection efforts also carry on during the shutdown. Parks won’t offer road or trail condition updates and have closed some sites, such as archaeological or historical sites, that require law enforcement presence.

• Agriculture Department: Core nutrition and food safety programs continue, as well as some farm loan processing and conservation programs. Payment processing, including for disaster assistance, is on pause. Over half of its employees are on furlough.

• Social Security Administration: Most of its employees remain at work to distribute benefits. Benefit verifications and requests under the Freedom of Information Act are among the halted activities.