Sylvia M. Burwell, director of the Office of Management and Budget, ordered executive agencies to shut down just before midnight on Monday.
“We urge Congress to act quickly to pass a Continuing Resolution to provide a short-term bridge that ensures sufficient time to pass a budget for the remainder of the fiscal year, and to restore the operation of critical public services and programs that will be impacted by a lapse in appropriations,” the memo said.
“This is a very sad day for our country,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said on the Senate floor early Tuesday morning. Reid declared the Senate is in recess until 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
An estimated 800,000 federal workers face furloughs because of the shutdown, though many were told to work a half day Tuesday.
To read more about the estimated impact of the federal government shutdown, visit HuffingtonPost.
