CLOSING UP SHOP
If a shutdown does occur, the mail would still be delivered and air traffic controllers would stay on the job as more than half of the 2 million federal employees still report to work. None would receive paychecks until a deal is reached. The last shutdown, which occurred on Columbus Day weekend in 1990, mainly affected tourists who were closed out of museums and monuments. But even that one day off had its price: according to the General Accounting Office, the 1990 closing cost taxpayers $1.7 million for closing federal facilities and missing contractual obligations.
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