You’ll still want to check your mailbox during the federal shutdown that started Wednesday.
Due to a lapse in funding, the law requires federal agencies to furlough their “non-excepted” employees. Excepted employees, which include those who work to protect life and property, stay on the job but don’t get paid until after the shutdown ends.
The White House Office of Management and Budget begins the process with instructions to agencies that a lapse in appropriations has occurred and they should initiate orderly shutdown activities. That memo went out Tuesday evening.
Read more: What closes during government shutdown? Here’s what to know
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that roughly 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed each day of the shutdown, with the total daily cost of their compensation at roughly $400 million.
This means the the Armed Forces, FBI investigators, CIA officers, air traffic controllers and agents operating airport checkpoints keep working.
You’ll also continue getting mail and all Post Offices will remain open for business as usual.
The U.S. Postal Service is unaffected by a government shutdown. It’s an independent entity funded through the sale of its products and services, not by tax dollars.
The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.