Congress is careening toward another government shutdown deadline.
Without new government funding legislation, crucial services and legions of federal workers will be sidelined, or go unpaid, as soon as midnight late Friday. Another larger shutdown deadline waits just a week later.
Here’s what you need to know about what Congress is — or isn’t — doing to prevent a shutdown.
What would be affected in a shutdown? The funding that was set to expire on March 22 covers agencies that represent roughly 70 percent of the federal government. If the partial government shutdown lasted past the weekend it would affect a wide range of crucial federal services and thousands of employees. When funding lapses, many government workers are furloughed until their agencies reopen. Certain federal workers — mostly those involved in national security or vital economic activity — continue working unpaid.