<h1>Congressional funding lapse triggers agency shutdowns, furloughs for non-excepted staff and excepted work continues (31 U.S.C. §1341)</h1> A funding lapse from a congressional impasse has triggered statutory agency shutdown procedures requiring furloughs of non-excepted employees and continuation of excepted work that protects life and property; retroactive pay is legally required once funding resumes. The executive's budget office directed agencies to begin orderly shutdowns and suggested aggressive steps including reductions-in-force for programs not aligned with administration priorities. Critical functions (law enforcement, military, Social Security, veterans' care, postal services) continue, while research, regulatory reviews, and many agency programs face suspension (notably parts of HHS, NIH and FDA activities). Economic estimates show modest near-term effects but growing losses the longer a shutdown persists.