The Christian Science Monitor

Government shutdown: How did we get here, and what could it mean?

Like a stone thrown into water, a government shutdown initiated in Washington will ripple out across America. 

Unless the House and Senate can agree to an 11th-hour stopgap funding measure, the government will run out of money at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, affecting millions of government employees and the citizens their departments serve.

While not every government activity would stop, there would be significant disruptions, particularly if a shutdown lasts for more than a few days.

Social Security checks, Medicare, and Veterans Affairs benefits will still be distributed in the case of a shutdown, and Medicaid has funding to keep it operating for three months. Still, certain operations within these necessary services will be affected. , which administer Social Security claims, will have to determine if they have the funds to pay those employees during a shutdown. The issuing of replacement Medicare cards will be , , and there will be no

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