The White House estimates that 3.5 million federal workers will have to go without pay if the government shuts down. Roughly 2 million of them will be military.
The rough tally comes as House Republicans struggle to push through spending bills that would keep the government open in the new budget year.
Absent a last-minute bipartisan deal, which appears unlikely, federal agencies are expected to curb much of their work and require many employees to work without pay.
In addition to the 2 million military service members, the White House Office of Management and Budget estimates 1.5 million federal civilian employees will go without pay.
About 820,000 of those federal workers will be sent home, or “furloughed.”
Yes, but if you’re directly employed by the fed, you will receive back pay. If you receive unemployment pay during that time, you will have to pay it back.
The big issue is people who are employed by a contracting firm and work in federal buildings - they won’t receive back pay when they come back.