What Is A Government Shutdown? 7 Things That Would Happen

WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump's insistence on money to build a border wall along the Mexico border has complicated efforts to avoid a government shutdown now looming for the end of September.

"If we have to close down our government," he said at a campaign rally Tuesday, "we're building that wall."

Current projections have the government running out of money on Sept. 30. If Congress doesn't pass a spending bill that the president will sign by then, the government shutdown begins. Asked Thursday about whether Trump was serious about pushing for a shutdown, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders simply said that the administration thinks the wall is vital security measure.

A government shutdown would be no minor inconvenience. It would cost the country billions of dollars in lost economic activity and would likely create hardships for millions of Americans, including veterans, farmers, the sick and the unemployed.

Obviously, the federal government can't close completely. The military would continue to operate. Employees considered vital would keep working. Still, many valuable and important functions will be delayed or stopped until Congress and the president come to agreement. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Watch: Trump Threatens A Government Shutdown To Build The Border 'Wall'

Here are seven likely results of a government shutdown:

1. The post office stays open.

Don't worry, you'll still be able to send rent checks or invoices the old-fashioned way, even if you don't yet completely rely on email. Since the post office is funded independently, it will continue to run during a government shutdown.

Similarly, the Federal Reserve is independently funded — and in fact makes more money than it spends — and will continue to operate.

2. CDC, NIH and National Park Service shut down

While you can still go to post office if the government shuts down, you will have to cancel any trips to the national parks. Forget about visiting Yellowstone, Yosemite or Acadia until the park rangers are allowed to return.

Perhaps the most troubling department closures, however, are that of the CDC and NIH. When the CDC isn't funded, it falls behind on its efforts to fight the spread of the flu and to track the spread of deadly diseases and infections across the country. The National Institutes of Health are unable to enroll patients in potentially life-saving experimental studies.

3. Federal employees get furloughed

Without the legal authorization to continue paying employees, hundreds of thousands of federal workers could be "furloughed" — in other words, forced to take a mandatory hiatus. In 2013, around 800,000 federal employees were furloughed; however, around 2.2 million government workers stayed on even during the shutdown.

4. Some workers continue without a clear payment date

The federal government doesn't furlough workers deemed "essential" — TSA, federal prison staff, FBI agents, emergency workers and doctors. And of course, the most well-known government employees — our elected representatives — will continue to show up at work.

However, they simply don't get paid as long as the shutdown lasts.

Everyone who works for the federal government during this time will eventually get paid for these days, the payment of salaries may be delayed until the funding returns.

5. Social Security checks go out

There's a reason Social Security is called an entitlement. Social Security payments are mandated and authorized by federal law, so anyone relying on this money will continue to receive it. However, anyone who wants to sign up to receive social security benefits would be delayed until the government is fully operational again.

6. Unemployment benefits, and other government payments, could face delays

But while social security checks go out, many other sources of federal funds will run dry if the shutdown persists. People receiving veterans' benefits, unemployment insurance, farm subsidies and tax refunds may face delays or have to wait until Congress passes a spending bill. In 2013, for instance, some veterans benefits were delayed, though most were paid out, according to Newsweek.

7. The country loses money

According to the financial ratings agency Standard and Poor's, the 2013 government shutdown subtracted about $1.5 billion from GDP every day it lasted, totaling $24 billion of lost economic activity by the end. If the government shuts down this year, that will happen again.

Federal spending, like it or not, is a major part of the American economy, and abruptly ending it means less economic activity because of lost productivity, wages and other downstream financial impacts.

And these numbers don't count other harder-to-measure economic impacts, such as reduced confidence in the competence of the American government and institutions.

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster