Full list of what could be effected after midnight: Status Category Agency/service Details Closed/ceased Interior & Environment National Parks All national parks would close at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. Parks that have actual hours, like the St. Louis Arch or Washington Monument, just won't reopen. At parks where people camp, gates will be closed so no one can enter. Those in the park will be given 24 hours to leave. Parks like Yellowstone and Gettysburg, which are large and contain public roads, will be passable but all gates and visitor centers will be locked and closed. Most park employees will not report to work. Law enforcement will remain to protect parks and the public. Open/unaffected Justice Federal Courts - judges Every federal judge and magistrate would remain on duty. Many would be encouraged to work from home if possible, which many appeals judges and justices already do. The chambers staff would likely be reduced to absolute essentials, including law clerks. Open/unaffected Justice Federal Courts - trials and arrests Trials that would already be underway at the time of a shutdown would likely continue, especially criminal trials. District judges would have the discretion of postponing future trials, with an emphasis on civil trials being delayed over criminal trials. Grand juries might be dismissed. Unclear/mixed Justice Federal Courts - filings Since nearly all court filings and appeals are done electronically, there would be less backlog of paperwork than from the last shutdown. But clerks of court and their staff would likely be among the first to be furloughed in a shutdown, so those filings and appeals would be delayed in their processing. First appearances for newly arrested or charged criminal defendants would continue, but many preliminary pre-trial hearings might be delayed. Appointment of public defenders might be delayed. Closed/ceased Justice Federal Courts - probation officers Duties of probation officers -- who operate under control of the judiciary -- may be curtailed, and they may not be able to fully monitor those on parole or probation. Unclear/mixed Justice Federal Courts - other services Public access to the courts -- especially tourists visiting the Supreme Court -- might be limited or blocked for the duration of the shutdown. Emergency appeals like stays of execution would not be affected. Other staff that might be furloughed would be: clerks, librarians, support staff for judges like aides and secretaries, public information staff, and those in the cafeteria, maintenance, and engineering departments. Closed/ceased National Security National Reconnaissance Office The vast majority of civilian staff will be told to stay home because there will be no support services -- no cafeteria, no cleaning crews, minimal heating and lighting since most offices will be empty. Unclear/Mixed Interior & Environment National Park Web sites The NPS website gets about 1 million hits a day. It's unclear whether it will continue to operate during a closure. Unclear/Mixed National Security National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The NGA, which provides map and image intelligence to the military, is reviewing its contingency plans for mission-essential personnel to sustain vital global missions such as safety and navigation of the maritime mission, aeronautical support, war fighter intelligence support to numerous ongoing operations. Unclear/Mixed Justice Federal Courts Court officials say they expect things to run fairly normally for the first two weeks, using their 'non-appropriated' emergency funds. That means trials, hearings, grand juries, oral arguments, jury schedules, filings, probation officers -- all the operations of the federal courts -- would run normally. After two weeks, discretion has been granted to each individual court to make their own decisions on what would constitute 'essential activities.' Every federal judge and magistrate would remain on duty. Unclear/mixed Homeland Security Administration and support personnel Shutdown could impact these positions. Open/unaffected Transportation Air Traffic Control Controllers would report to work as normal. Open/unaffected Homeland Security Customs and Border Patrol Most Customs and Border Partol services would be unaffected. Open/unaffected Homeland Security FEMA Emergency services continue. Closed/ceased Congress House Many congressional staffers have received furlough notices; members of Congress continue to get paid. Open/unaffected Congress House Functions operated by private contractors and outside entites are unaffected by the federal budget and will be open for business. Levels of service may be decreased if there is not a sufficient need for these services Open/unaffected Homeland Security Immigration Many immigration services continue. Closed/ceased Treasury IRS No IRS processing of paper tax returns or refunds. Unclear/mixed Health & Human Services Medicaid Processing of disability applications could be delayed. Closed/ceased Health & Human Services Medicare & Medicaid Personnel who normally answer Social Security questions will likely not report to work. Unclear/mixed Defense Military Troops including those fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq will not be paid on time. Troops will continue to earn money but will receive no paychecks. Open/unaffected National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service Weather forecasting and emergency services continue. Unclear/mixed State Department State Passport processing will be slower because of fewer workers. Regular passports will not be issued, but emergency passports will be issued. Closed/ceased Homeland Security Visas Regular visas will not be processed, however emergency visas will be processed. Closed/ceased Interior and Environment EPA EPA would cease monitoring pollution and issuing environmental impact permits. Toxic waste site cleanup would stop. Closed/ceased Technology Government websites Most government websites will not be updated. Closed/ceased Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health No new clinical trials; won't accept new patients. Closed/ceased Business Small Business Administration SBA approvals of applications for direct loans to small businesses will stop. Closed/ceased Executive White House The White House Visitor Center would close and the gift shop would close to the public. open/unaffected Justice Supreme Court In the event of a lapse of appropriations, the Court will continue to conduct its normal operations through the week of April 11. The Court building will be open to the public during its usual hours.
