Here is link to Scrbd doc. which tells all about gov.shutdowns, what stays open, who gets paid, etc.
Members of Congress,
the President, presidential appointees, certain legislative branch employees, and federal employees deemed “excepted.”
“Excepted” employees, who are required to work during a shutdown, are described as“employees who are excepted from a furlough by law because they are (1) performing emergenc ywork involving the safety of human life or the protection of property, (2) involved in the orderly suspension of agency operations, or (3) performing other functions exempted from the furlough.”
then follows a long list of what government duties were exempt and which were "furloughed".
the article pertains to PAST shutdowns, there does not seem to be a hard and fast rule.
NOTE that the Congress will, of course, continue to get THEIR government handout from our tax dollars,
but they can put the hurt on us.
( I really do not understand why anyone would vote for them ever again...sheesh)
I recommend a read.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/52435831/Federal-Shutdown-CRS-report