How The Government Shutdown Will Impact Oklahomans

Without an agreement from Congress, the Federal Government will shut down at 11 p.m. central time Monday night.

For most Oklahomans, day to day life will go on uninterrupted for the short term. Unless you are one of the 3000 civilian employees at Tinker Air Force base that could be sent home from work.

At Tinker Air Force Base, everyone is expected to come to work Tuesday to find out if they will be furloughed. Base officials say a contingency plan is in place for the shutdown. Active duty military personnel will remain on regular duty, but most civilians paid by appropriated funds will be furloughed. Those essential to national security will remain on the job.

"We remain hopeful that the budget uncertainty will be resolved prior to the expiration of appropriations. A shutdown would put severe hardships on an already stressed workforce," said base officials in a statement.

Park rangers at the Oklahoma City National Memorial will also be sent home. But the Memorial will stay open. Executive Director Kari Watkins says the Memorial is not owned or operated by the federal government and it was set up that way because of the government shutdown 17 years ago.

Staff members and volunteers will be on site to replace the park rangers and conduct tours.

Postal workers will continue to deliver your mail. The postal service operates on revenue from stamps and other postal services, not tax dollars.

The longer a government shutdown goes on, however, the bigger the impact will be. Federal courts will operate for about 10 days before employees may be furloughed. Federally backed mortgage and small business loans could also be delayed.