Ben Miksch, State and Federal Policy Associate

The ironic apocryphal curse is, "May you live in interesting times." The implication is that "uninteresting times" are characterized by peace and tranquility and are more life-enhancing than interesting ones, marked by chaos and conflict. There is no doubt that the federal government is experiencing a very, very interesting time. And tomorrow morning is going to be a very interesting day. At this point, it is seeming almost certain that the federal government will be shutting down tonight at midnight. And, whether the government shuts down or not, the Affordable Care Act exchanges are still going to be opening up.

You can read more about the background that brought us up to this point in the National Low Income Housing Coalition's most recent Memo to Members here.

Ezra Klein's Washington Post Wonkblog, has a good write-up of how exactly a government shutdown will work: Absolutely everything you need to know about how the government shutdown will work.

To find out more about how housing programs will be affected, check out the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Contingency Plan for Possible Lapse in Appropriations.

It's always risky predicting what the federal government will do, and theoretically a deal is still possible -- just very unlikely. We'll do our best to keep you informed about what this shutdown will mean for federal affordable housing, homelessness, and safety net programs. We'll also let you know what any proposed deals could mean for those of us in the "real Washington." Meanwhile, here at the Housing Alliance, we can't wait until we return back to more uninteresting days!

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Photo Credit: Paul Arps