In April 2011, the federal government narrowly avoided a governmental shutdown; two and a half years later, we are back in the unpleasant situation of watching and waiting to see if Congress can pull itself together in time to avoid the long-term repercussions of budgetary disputes. 

On Friday, with a 54-44 vote, the Senate succeeding in passing a budget for the federal government, one that included nationalized healthcare. Now, all eyes are on the House to see how they will react. Will party politics be reason enough to cause a governmental shutdown? 

Any programs written into permanent law or related to either national security or public safety would continue operating  in the case of a governmental shutdown. 

Social Security checks would still be distributed and veterans’ hospitals would remain open, but dozens of federal agencies would be forced to shut down for the time being. 

In the case of a governmental shutdown, 1.2 million federal employees would be furloughed and sent home without pay; but “due to their constitutional responsibilities and a permanent appropriation for congressional pay, Members of Congress are not subject to furlough,” according to a recent review by the Congressional Research Service.

While the term “government shutdown” may sound catastrophic, the government did recover from its 21-day shutdown in 1995-1996, eventually overcoming the embarrassing display of obstinacy without too much harm to the dismissed employees. 

“Federal employees who have been furloughed under a shutdown historically have received their salaries retroactively,” states the Congressional Research Service report. “However, there appears to be no guarantee that employees placed on shutdown furlough would receive such pay.” 

Interestingly, Obamacare would not be entirely defeated even in the case of a federal shutdown, as crucial parts of the Affordable Care Act rely on mandatory spending that would be unaffected by the shutdown. The new online healthcare exchanges, Medicaid expansion, and billions in federal tax credits will proceed even if Congress http://www.businessinsider.com/obamacare-is-good-to-go-even-if-the-gover... " target="_blank">does not pass a federal budget in the next few days.

House Republicans met Saturday morning to draft a new budget with less intense attacks on healthcare reform—such as a one-year postponement  of the Affordable Care Act—in hopes of reaching a compromise with the Democrat-dominated Senate. 

Yet, in the face of a federal shutdown, Democrats and Republicans have both remained fiercely loyal to their parties. 

"Five minutes ago the Senate could have acted to prevent a government shutdown. We could have avoided the spectre and the countdown clock would disappear but [majority leader Reid] would rather risk a government shutdown because he supports a law called Obamacare,” stated Republican Senator Ted Cruz, attributing full blame for the precarious state of the federal government to Senate Democrats. 

These intimidation tactics seem to have no effect, however, as even Democrats facing re-election in conservative-leaning states such as Alaska, Arkansas, and Louisiana have all resisted Republican pressure to give up their support of Obamacare. 

With just a handful of days to go before the ever-looming possibility of a shutdown, the conflict between party politics and national interest becomes even more apparent.   

Contact Executive Producer Sara Newman here. Follow her here.