Congress is again scrambling to avoid a government shutdown.

  • Government to shut down if spending deal not reached
  • If it happens, what services will stay open?
  • Military members could see a pay delay

Republicans leaders made deals behind closed doors to keep the conservative wing of their party in line.

Democrats, meanwhile, also want a deal to protect the "Dreamers" under the Obama-era DACA program from deportation. They also are frustrated that Democrats were not included in the process, according to Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts.

The House passed a four-week stopgap measure Thursday night, 230-197. The bill funds the government through Feb. 16. The Senate will be an even tougher venue for a spending bill, because 60 votes are needed. 

If no spending deal is reached by Friday night, government agencies will begin shutting down, though the real impact won't be felt until Monday. 

So here are five things that happen when there is a government shutdown:

1. Most essential government agencies will stay open

Thanks to a Reagan-era memorandum, federal workers involved in national security-related work, or performing jobs that "protect life and property" will still report to work. That includes the FBI, the military, air traffic control, TSA workers, food inspectors, Medicare and Social Security workers, veterans' health care workers, FEMA and more. Social security checks will go out. Doctors will get their medical reimbursements.

That's not to say that these agencies won't have to furlough some of their workforce. FEMA, for instance, will have to furlough about 3,000 of its almost 16,000 workers.

Fewer than half of civilian federal workers will be forced off the job. The Interior Department says it will try to operate many national parks, war memorials and public lands with skeleton crews. The State Department says it is ready for the government shutdown but doesn't know yet what services, such as visa and passport processing, will be available. 

The Post Office, which is not funded by the federal government, will continue delivering mail.

Also considered exempt: the Special Counsel's Office of the Justice Department. 

2. But many programs and services will be suspended

Have a government website you go to often, say, NASA? Some sections of the website, if not the whole site, may go on hiatus. Tech services won't be available, except for safety and national security services.

Have a case going through bankruptcy court? Work on that will be suspended.

No tax audits by the IRS will be performed in a government shutdown.

The National Institutes of Science is currently rushing to save experiments that could be ruined because no one would be there to work on them. Also, any new patients for medical trials and experimental therapies will have to be turned away.

3. Working federal workers won't be paid during the shutdown

Even those federal employees who are working will not get paid for the days worked during the shutdown. What usually happens when the government is finally funded, is that workers are paid retroactively.

4. Military personnel would see a pay delay after Feb. 1

Military personnel are exempt from budget shutdowns, so the Defense Department will continue working, including some of the civilian workforce. Paychecks are issued on the first and 15th of the month, so military personnel will have already gotten their pay for January. If the shutdown goes past Feb. 1, however, pay checks will be delayed.

5. But Congress will still get paid

In fact, the president, Congress and the Supreme Court will all continue to collect paychecks during the shutdown.

NOTE: Yes, President Trump is donating his salary, but that is a directed donation. And those donations will continue to go through, even if the shutdown happens.

Information from the Associated Press, CNN and the National Constitution Center contributed to this report.