US Government Shutdown approaching?

A shutdown of the US Government may be coming up mid-December. This has happened before, but might be worse this time, judging from reports in the New York Times and the LA Times. Given the number of people and companies living right on the edge, paycheck to paycheck if they even have jobs, even a brief interruption in services could be a major public health issue.

From the Los Angeles Times, this morning, emphasis added:

White House, Congress in a budget standoff
.... But the White House was in no mood to compromise, according to Obey, who said the budget director told him, "As I go around the White House, I don't find anybody in any quarters interested in any kind of a compromise at all."

On Tuesday, the Democratic-controlled House showed its determination to stand its ground as well, voting overwhelmingly to override Bush's veto of a $23-billion water projects bill and approving a $215-billion spending bill that the president has threatened to veto.

The standoffs between Congress and the White House over spending and other issues are heightening partisan tensions in the Capitol and causing legislative gridlock. And it is bound to get worse as next year's campaign season approaches and both parties work to define their differences rather than seek compromises.

More than a month after the beginning of the new fiscal year, not one of the 12 annual spending bills has been signed into law. Not since 1995, when the budget disputes were so bitter they prompted a partial government shutdown, have Congress and the president appeared so far apart on spending priorities.

The government is operating on a stop-gap spending measure that expires Nov. 16, though it is likely to be extended through Dec. 14.

So, what happened in 1995? And if there is a "partial shutdown," what part is likely to be hit?
An authoritative analysis is here, in the CRS Report for Congress.

The most recent shutdowns occurred in FY1996. There were two during the early part of the fiscal year. The first, November 14-19, 1995, resulted in the furlough of an estimated 800,000 federal employees....

The second FY1996 partial shutdown of the federal government, and the longest in history, began on December 16, 1995, and ended on January 6, 1996, after the White House and Congress agreed on a new resolution (P.L. 104-94) to fund the government through January 26, 1996. On January 2, 1996, the estimate of furloughed federal employees was 284,000. Another 475,000 federal employees, rated “essential,” continued to work in a non-pay status.

[many more specific details follow.]

Wikipedia has a summary page "Government Shutdown" which is less authoritative, but may be updated on an almost hourly basis if a partial shutdown does occur this time, and have links to more detailed information sources.