Shutdown Would Pull Nearly 800K Federal Workers, Stall Military Payments

The White House said Wednesday that nearly 800,000 federal employees would not be heading to work Monday should Congress fail to agree on a spending measure for the remainder of FY2011. 

Additionally, a senior administration official told reporters that national parks, the Internal Revenue Service new Social Security and Medicaid applications would no longer be processed. And for those who live in and around the nation’s capital, the coveted cherry blossom festival would ultimately be canceled in the event of a government shutdown. 

In a conference call with reporters, the official said that members of the U.S. Armed Forces would not receive checks, but would ultimately be paid retroactively. 

“They will continue to earn money during this period of time but given that we don’t have any money, they will not receive paychecks until Congress appropriates,” the official said. 

With the threat of a shutdown growing more certain, the President has called on Congressional leaders to work around the clock to reach a consensus. The current continuing resolution will expire Friday, April 8.