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Government shutdown: By the numbers

CNNPolitics: “As the government shutdown nears the end of its second week, around 800,000 federal workers remain out of work or working without pay. Tens of thousands of people working for federal contractors are out of work as well. Here’s a closer look at some of the numbers behind what is shaping up to be one of the longest government shutdowns in American history….The money that Congress and Trump are fighting over — $5 billion for the border wall — is a small fraction of the overall federal budget. The total federal budget is $4.4 trillion, but 70% of that is mandatory spending. The other 30% is discretionary spending that lawmakers appropriate each year. This is where funding for federal agencies comes in.

This year, discretionary spending for federal agencies was not passed in one single ‘omnibus’ spending package like it has been in the recent past. Some agencies, like the Defense Department, had their funding bills passed before the end of 2018. Each agency has a separate appropriations process. 2018 was the first year in more than a decade that some of the congressional appropriations bills were passed on time. That’s why only certain agencies are shut down…”

See also the Washington Post – Consequences of the government shutdown strike the private sector – “…As the partial government shutdown enters Day 14, its effects are starting to cascade far beyond the hulking agency buildings in Washington. Private companies with federal contracts are coping with chaos, confusion and uncertainty, while businesses large and small that rely on the operations of the vast federal bureaucracy are starting to feel sand in their gears…”

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