Well, after weeks of republican infighting in the House and only hours to spare before what seemed like a certainty, cooler heads prevailed and both chambers and the President signed off on a 45 day continuing resolution, kicking the can to mid-November and avoiding a government shutdown.

Whenever the government shuts down because congress cannot agree to a budget, hundreds of thousands of federal employees (if not millions) end up being furloughed home if their job or current role is deemed not essential. During this time they cannot work, and because the government is shut down, do not get paid. Ultimately, when congress passes a budget, the furloughed employees go back to work and will get all the time they were furloughed paid back to them. When you think about it, it’s an irresponsible waste of money on the part of congress since folks get paid for a time period they weren’t working, but it also puts stress on those furloughed as many depend on their paychecks to make ends meet each month.

For those deemed essential, you have to go to work but also still face the prospect of not getting paid until a budget is passed. Honestly, this seems like an even rawer deal than just being furloughed. I guess it’s flattering to know your job is essential, but it sucks if your BFF is at home playing video games or getting paid for some side work because he was furloughed, while you are still working your butt off. You both aren’t getting paid, and when a budget is passed, both will get back pay.

So what exactly does that mean for a humble Medical Provider serving overseas? Not much would change for me.

In order to be a considered an “essential” employee of the federal government, your job has to be important to national security or related to health and safety. Well, my job checks both boxes. Embassy functions are an important part of national security, so they never close in a shutdown, and my job also clearly falls in the arena of health and safety. So basically I just keep going about my business, and depending on how long the shutdown lasts, might miss a paycheck or two.

The longest ever government shutdown was from December 2018 to January 2019 when President Trump led a shutdown over border wall funding that lasted over 30 days. Ultimately he caved and signed a budget without getting his funding, but it did a lot of damage. Thankfully we have avoided that for the time being.

Had we shut down, the biggest impact for me would have been missing some training in D.C. this month because all training grinds to a halt, which also would have prevented me from taking some leave back home in El Paso that I snuck into the tail end. Really happy I don’t have to miss out on that.

I guess this is one of the downsides of working for the federal government. I really love this job, but it’s annoying when a few individuals playing politics can negatively impact the lives of millions, and every time this happens, nothing really changes, and no one gets what they want. If anything, the party responsible for the shutdowns takes a bath in the next election cycle.

Time will tell what comes of ongoing showdown with this continuing resolution. My family is fortunate from a financial standpoint that missing a few paychecks in a shutdown wouldn’t cripple us, but makes for a nail-biting time for federal employees watching a bunch of rich congress members grandstand (and still get paid even in a shutdown). Fingers crossed we can avoid one when this circles around in mid-November. -Nick