Federal agencies detail impacts of government shutdown with deadline fast approaching
CBSN
Washington — More than 1.3 million active-duty military members and thousands of air traffic controllers and TSA agents will have to work without pay during a government shutdown, a prospect that looks increasingly likely with Congress running out of time to approve new funding.
Both the Department of Homeland Security and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said a lapse in funding would severely hamper key government functions and could cause lengthy delays at airports. The White House has warned that active-duty service members could have their pay delayed in the event of a shutdown, even if it lasts just a few days.
The Defense Department was not subject to the last shutdown in 2018 and 2019, since Congress passed and President Trump signed the Defense Appropriations Act two days before the end of the fiscal year. In 2013, Congress passed a one-off law just before the shutdown that ensured service members would be paid. Some lawmakers have introduced legislation to pay the military in the event of a shutdown now, but the clock is ticking ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline.
President Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families.
It's Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus is suiting up for his annual voyage from the North Pole to households around the world. In keeping with decades of tradition, the North American Aerospace Command, or NORAD, will once again track Santa's journey to deliver gifts to children before Christmas 2024, using an official map that's updated consistently to show where he is right now.