Many US government agencies are about to stop operating.

The White House on September 23 warned federal agencies to prepare for the possibility of a US government shutdown, as Congress remains divided over budget spending as the new fiscal year begins.

With the current fiscal year ending September 30, U.S. lawmakers and senators have about a week to compromise or face a shutdown of several federal agencies and programs, forcing hundreds of thousands of nonessential workers to be furloughed. The White House says about 800,000 of the roughly 2.1 million federal employees and contractors will be affected.

Illustration photo. (Source: radio.foxnews.com)

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has also warned that the US Department of Defense should be prepared for a possible US government shutdown if Congress fails to overcome the current political impasse over the budget. Speaking to reporters, Pentagon spokesman George Little said that if government agencies are forced to shut down, US troops around the world will continue to perform their duties, while some civilian employees will have to take unpaid leave. In addition, salaries for military personnel may not be paid on time.

However, the Pentagon did not specify which civilian components would be forced to cease operations if the government “collapsed” before next week. Mr. Little said US military operations in Afghanistan would not be affected by the incident.

Mr Little stressed that a government shutdown would pose serious difficulties for an already stressed workforce and called on Congress to find a compromise to avoid "a fiscal mistake."

According to the spokesman, on September 23, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is expected to send a letter to employees in the Department about the Office of Management and Budget requesting the Pentagon to "review and update its preparation plan in case of a government shutdown."

Earlier in 2011, as the U.S. government approached the brink of a shutdown, the Department of Defense listed a number of essential services that would continue to operate, including health care, child care, legal offices, logistics, mess halls, schools and training, and some accounting departments.

Meanwhile, US Vice President Joe Biden, during a visit to Colorado on the same day, pledged that the possibility of a government shutdown would not affect relief efforts for the western state, where a week of natural disasters and floods has destroyed nearly 2,000 homes and damaged more than 16,000 others.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama may meet with US congressional leaders in the coming days to address the issue.

The deeply divided US Congress has until October 1, the start of fiscal year 2014, to reach a budget compromise to avoid a government shutdown./.

According to (TTXVN) - DT