Shutdown? What shutdown? States will carry on despite impasse in Washington
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The federal government shut down at midnight Monday after Congress was unable to reach an agreement on several budget issues.
But as Tuesday dawned, state governments carried on with little or no negative consequences in the short-term.
Though the shutdown will limit visitors to national parks and will mean federal bureaucrats get a few days of unpaid vacation time, the effects will be little felt outside of the Washington, D.C., beltway. From New Mexico to New Jersey, state governments have contingency plans in place to deal with shortfalls of federal cash, while other states say they will hardly notice that the lights went out on Pennsylvania Avenue.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Virginia, the state with the largest percentage of federal workers, will continue federally funded programs through Friday.
"It is our hope that this will give budget negotiators additional time to reach a resolution of the budget impasse," Martin L. Kent, Gov. Bob McDonnell's chief of staff, wrote in a memo.