The federal building in LA houses many programs that are at risk for shut down.

Workers at Los Angeles-area federally-funded programs and institutions are biting their nails hours before they may be temporarily left without a job. 

L.A. is working to prepare itself for the possibility of a federal government shutdown starting at 9 p.m. PDT Friday, especially after the shutdown of 1995-1996 caused some major issues.  

 "It's outrageous," L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Wednesday. "These people (Congress and the White House) are bringing us to the brink of disaster, and it's a perfect example of why people are so turned off by the partisanship you see in D.C. But I will be clear about this, and I call them like I see them, I think the Republican leadership in the House has been very irresponsible here. And I think President Obama has said to both parties it's time to come together and figure this out because the country just cannot afford to be without a government."

So what is LA going to do? Here’s some affected and unaffected programs:

The Santa Monica Mountains National Park would have to shut down if the government closure were to occur. 

“The visitor center would close, and we would close the gates to the park. We would only respond to emergencies and have very limited personnel,” said Lauren Newman, the public affairs officer for the park. 

The park, which had more than 60,000 visitors last April, offers numerous programs throughout the year, including hikes, photography classes, trail work, bird-watching, mountain bike lessons, and folk music festivals, all of which would have to be cancelled or rescheduled if the shut-down occurred. 

The United States Attorney's Office's services should mostly run smoothly during the shutdown.  While most of their programs, including national security, law enforcement, and bureau of prisons are assumed to be essential, as well as the FBI.  Criminal caseload and most crime operations would be generally unaffected.

“The biggest impact that the shut down would have on us would be civil litigation we are engaged in. About a third of our attorneys are civil attorneys who sue on behalf of United States,” said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the L.A. region United States Attorney's Office. 

You may not be able to go the national parks or get sued by the United States Attorney’s office, but you can still visit the DMV,  which is not federally-funded, so operations should not be interrupted.  According to a representative, “There's a federal grant or two that could affect reimbursement back to the department, but that should be the only impact.”

Reach reporter Charlotte Spangler here.