pass legislation known as "stop-gap funding" to keep the government running
Congress IS the federal government.
The Congress is the Legislative Branch of the government but it is PART of the entity commonly referred to as the Federal Government.
Yes, it is true that Congress can appropriate money to the federal government. This is how federal departments are funded.
Congress has the ability to appropriate funds to be spent by the federal government.
Under a bill passed by congress and signed by the president, the military did receive their pay during the shutdown. And other federal employees are supposed to receive retroactive back-pay for the money they did not receive during the sixteen days the government was shut down.
The federal US government underwent a partial shutdown during the 2013 budget crisis. This shutdown costs hundreds of millions of dollars, as well as billions of dollars in revenues.
The leglegislative branch of the federal government referred to as Congress
The legislative branch of the federal government is called the Congress.
Some federal employees are considered non-essential, so it is mandatory they be furloughed during government shutdown. Thank you! After further research, I found on Wikipedia that there is the Antideficiency Act from 1884 that is the basis of for this furlough requirement.
Members of Congress continue to get paid in the event of a government shutdown. This is because under Constitutional law, their pay cannot be altered except in the case of a direct law stating so.
Congress
Congress.