Pentagon Operations During a Government Shutdown, and More from CRS
If Congress fails to appropriate funds for the new fiscal year beginning October 1, then most of the government will be obliged to shut down and cease operations.
However, based on past practice, some national security-related activities would be exempted from the shutdown. A newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service anticipates that “many Department of Defense activities would continue, though other activities would halt.” CRS sorts through many of the relevant issues in Government Shutdown: Operations of the Department of Defense During a Lapse in Appropriations, September 26, 2013.
Update: On September 27, the Department of Defense held a press briefing on DoD planning for a possible government shutdown.
Other new and newly updated CRS reports that Congress has sought to withhold from online public distribution include the following.
Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects, September 25, 2013
Federal Funding Gaps: A Brief Overview, September 23, 2013
The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases, September 25, 2013
Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables, September 24, 2013
Current Debates over Exchange Rates: Overview and Issues for Congress, September 26, 2013
Health Insurance Exchanges: Health Insurance “Navigators” and In-Person Assistance, September 25, 2013
Monuments and Memorials in the District of Columbia: Analysis and Options for Proposed Exemptions to the Commemorative Works Act, September 24, 2013
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation: Background and Legislative Issues, September 25, 2013
Tajikistan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests, September 25, 2013
Kenya: Current Issues and U.S. Policy, September 23, 2013
Issues in Homeland Security Policy for the 113th Congress, September 23, 2013
Funding and Financing Highways and Public Transportation, September 23, 2013
The Army’s Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV): Background and Issues for Congress, September 24, 2013
Federalism, State Sovereignty and the Constitution: Basis and Limits of Congressional Power, September 23, 2013
Satellite imagery of RAF Lakenheath reveals new construction of a security perimeter around ten protective aircraft shelters in the designated nuclear area, the latest measure in a series of upgrades as the base prepares for the ability to store U.S. nuclear weapons.
It will take consistent leadership and action to navigate the complex dangers in the region and to avoid what many analysts considered to be an increasingly possible outcome, a nuclear conflict in East Asia.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.
How the United States responds to China’s nuclear buildup will shape the global nuclear balance for the rest of the century.