Update: Crisis averted as lawmakers reach compromise just hours before shutdown would have taken effect.
Washington (CBS) --
Lawmakers announced late Friday they had reached a compromise deal to avert a government shutdown just hours before the shutdown would have taken effect.
"Tomorrow, I'm pleased to announce that the Washington Monument, as well as the entire federal government, will be open for business," President Obama said around 11:00 p.m., just one hour before the midnight deadline.
Had lawmakers not reached a deal, the government would have seen its first shutdown in 15 years.
Mr. Obama said the budget agreement reflected the biggest annual spending cut in U.S. history.
Click here to read the rest of the story brought to you by CBS correspondent, Brian Montopoli.
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As the Friday midnight deadline looms, there is still no word on lawmakers coming to an agreement on differences of opinion over cutting federal spending and other issues.
One of the biggest questions we've been asked is how can this happen? The reason is that republicans and democrats are billions of dollars apart when it comes to the budget and they have a time limit set to get it done. If they don't meet the time limit the budget that's already enacted runs out.
The last time the government shut down was when president Bill Clinton was in office. It happened in 1996 and lasted 21 days.
In preparation for the worst, the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has told troops in Iraq they might lose a paycheck. Soldiers, like some essential government employees, have to keep working, even though they might not get paid.
If a deal doesn't come through by midnight, the U.S. government will stop. Workers are preparing to stay home without pay and federal agencies are gearing up to close their doors.
A closure would mean the furloughs of hundreds of thousands of workers and the services they provide, from processing many tax refunds to approving business loans.
Medical research would be disrupted, national parks would close and most travel visa and passport services would stop, among many others.
As for Clarence Cannon Dam and Mark Twain Lake, if the government shuts down, all facilities will close.
George Stringham with the U.S. Corps of Engineers tells KHQA, "Campers who are on site will be able to stay through Sunday. All Corps run facilities will be closed and locked. The operation of the dam and power plant will have minimal personnel to operate."
Click here to read the official press release from the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
Some viewers have concerns that a temporary shutdown may affect Medicare or Medicaid. Click here to read more from NPR's Health Blog where they say that "Medicare and Medicaid, being entititlement programs, aren't funded by the annual appropriations process (which is what Congress is currently fighting over) ..."
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