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Govt Shutdown to Have Limited Effect on Obamacare, Says CRS

10.01.13 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

“Substantial implementation” of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare) will continue even as most of the federal government is shutdown, the Congressional Research Service explained in a new report.

“A lapse in [government] funding does not automatically result in the suspension of applicable laws, including the filing and payment deadlines applicable to taxes created by the ACA…. Because a funding lapse is the result of legislative inaction, a government shutdown could not have the effect of either explicitly or implicitly repealing the underlying law,” the CRS report said.

See Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Appropriations Process: FAQs Regarding Potential Legislative Changes and Effects of a Government Shutdown, September 27, 2013.

Other new and newly updated CRS reports obtained by Secrecy News include the following.

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), U.S. Global HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Programs: A Description of Permanent and Expiring Authorities, September 27, 2013

In Brief: The September 2013 Terrorist Attack in Kenya, September 27, 2013

Farm-to-Food Price Dynamics, September 27, 2013

EPA Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Power Plants: Many Questions, Some Answers, September 30, 2013

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