WASHINGTON -- The federal government shut down just after 12 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, as lawmakers failed to reach a funding agreement, with Ohio’s Republican and Democratic congressional delegation blaming the other party for the impasse that will disrupt services for millions of Americans.

In a shutdown , hundreds of thousands of federal employees are furloughed or work without pay, government offices close, national parks may become inaccessible, and many federal services halt. Mail delivery and Social Security payments continue, but passport processing stops and new benefit claims face delays.

Ohio’s two Republican U.S. Senators blamed Democrats in the Senate for refusing to support a temporary funding measure that passed the U.S. House of Representatives along party lines in Septemb

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