Government shutdown

Japaenese tourists Kaori Nishimura and Eriko Kuboi pose in front of Half Dome during the reopening of Yosemite National Park, Calif., on Oct. 17. The park reopened Wednesday night with the end of the 16-day partial government shutdown.

Richard Doerner, Museum Specialist for the U.S. Senate Commission on Art, listens to the Ohio Clock as he restarts it outside the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill on Oct. 17, in Washington. The clock stopped during the 16 day government shutdown because the workers that care for the clock were furloughed.

Visitors walk through the Korean War Veterans Memorial after it was reopened to the public in Washington, on Oct. 17.

Capitol Visitor Center tour guide Mary Ellen Anderson, of Alexandria, Va., calls over a group of visitors for the start of a tour on Capitol Hill on Oct. 17, in Washington.

Visitors to the reopened National Museum of Natural History walk around an African bull elephant that was taxidermied, in Washington, on Oct. 17.

Joggers run up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at dawn, in Washington DC. Furloughed workers returned to work and national parks reopened after the a bipartisan deal was passed in the Senate and House that ended the sixteen-day-old partial shutdown of the federal government.

US Park Ranger Richard Trott walks on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial to collect and dispose of 'closed' signs, after the memorial was reopened to the public, in Washington DC. Furloughed workers returned to work and national parks reopened after a bipartisan deal was passed in the Senate and House that ended the sixteen-day-old partial shutdown of the federal government.

Passengers fill up Washington Metro subway cars in Arlington, Va., Thursday, Oct. 17, as workers return to their jobs after a budget fight on Capitol Hill that resulted in a partial government shutdown is resolved.

The sun begins to rise behind the U.S. Capitol building on the morning after a bipartisan bill was passed by the House and the Senate to reopened the government and raise the debt limit, on Oct. 17, in Washington, DC. President Obama signed the bill into law, that will fund the government until January 15, 2014 and allow the government to pay bills until February 7, 2014.

Members of the House of Representatives depart after a late-night vote on fiscal legislation to end the government shutdown at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 16. The Congress on Wednesday approved an 11th-hour deal to end a partial government shutdown and pull the world's biggest economy back from the brink of a historic debt default that could have threatened financial calamity.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, left, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., walk off the Senate floor after the Senate passed the Budget Bill on Oct. 16. The passage came after last minute negotiations between Sen. Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell walks to the Senate Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 16. On the 16th day of a government shutdown, Senate Majority Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that they have reached to an agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling and reopen the government.

Tea party conservatives Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, right, walk to a meeting as the Senate prepares to vote on a measure to avert a threatened Treasury default and reopen the government after a partial, 16-day shutdown on Oct. 16.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, left, talks to House Budget Committee ranking member Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, right, as a congressional staff member waits by the door after a House Democratic leadership meeting on Oct. 16.

Speaker of the House John Boehner pumps his fist as he walks past reporters after a meeting with House Republicans on Capitol Hill on Oct. 16.

Reverend Jim Wallis leads a prayer in front of the Capitol Building on the morning of Oct. 16, the 16th day of the partial government shutdown.

A Congressional staffer brings in a cart full of pizzas at the U.S. Capitol as both the Senate and House work on a deal to stop the government shutdown and avoid the country from defaulting on Oct. 15.

Reporters wait outside the office of Speaker of the House John Boehner as a planned vote in the House of Representatives collapsed on Tuesday night, Oct. 15.

Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, talks to students from Heritage Middle School in Hilliard, Ohio, about the government shutdown and the looming debt ceiling crisis, as they visit the Capitol in Washington onOct. 15.

Chris and April Vannoy, of Woodbridge, Va., kiss during a rally at the National World War II Memorial on Oct. 15, in Washington, held by the Military Coalition, a coalition of 33 of the leading veterans and uniformed services organizations, to demand an end to the partial government shutdown.

April is currently serving the the Navy and Chris is going to school full time and served in the Army.

The Statue of Liberty looms over a visitor as he uses binoculars to look out onto New York Harbor on Oct. 13 in New York. The Statue of Liberty reopened to the public after the state of New York agreed to shoulder the costs of running the site during the partial federal government shutdown.

A crowd gathers at the World War II Memorial to support a rally centered around reopening national memorials closed by the government shutdown, in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 13, 2013.

Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) recite the Pledge of Allegiance at a rally supported by military veterans, Tea Party activists and Republicans at the World War II Memorial on Oct. 13.

Protesters demanding an end to the government shutdown take part in a demonstration at the World War II memorial on Oct. 13.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell closes the door as he meets with Senate Republicans regarding the government shutdown and debt ceiling on Capitol Hill, Oct. 12.

House Democrats line up before going into the House Chamber to vote on Oct. 12.

Republican senators wait at the U.S. Capitol for a shuttle bus ride to the White House for a meeting with President Barack Obama on settling the debt limit and government funding issues, Oct. 11. From left to right are Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE), Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA).

Michele Kennedy-Kouadio, center, a furloughed employee of the Agriculture Department, joins other federal workers and several members of Congress during a protest calling for an end to the government shutdown outside the US Capitol on Oct. 10.

Democrat Representative Jim Himes (D-CT), right, appears on a live television news broadcast alongside Republican Representative Tom Cole (R-OK) as congressional staff continue negotiations into the night at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 10.

The Ohio Clock outside the Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill on Oct. 10. The clock, which has stood watch over the Senate for 196 years, stopped running shortly after noon Wednesday. Employees in the Office of the Senate Curator ordinarily wind the clock weekly, but they are among the thousands of federal employees furloughed under the shutdown.

House Speaker John Boehner tickles John Griffin III, son of Rep. Tim Griffin (R-AR), right, after a house vote on Oct. 10.

Chris Cox of Mount Pleasant, S.C., pushes a cart near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 9. Cox took it upon himself to mow and clean up the grounds around the Lincoln Memorial during the government shutdown. Park police let Cox work for a short time undisturbed, but later asked him to stop.

A U.S. Capitol Police officer picks up money that was thrown on the floor by activists protesting against the government shutdown at the Hart Senate Office building in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 9.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is joined by Senate Democrats at a news conference on the Senate steps on Oct. 9. From left: Washington Mayor Vincent Gray, Reid, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill.

Furloughed Americorps employee Jeffrey Wismer sits alone on the Washington Mall on Oct. 8 as he calls on congress to end the government shutdown.

The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunrise on Oct. 8, the eighth day of the government shutdown.

U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) conducts a tour of the U.S. Capitol for visiting Texans in Statuary Hall on Oct. 7. The partial shutdown of the federal government has halted Capitol tours so members of Congress have been giving tours to their constituents.

President Barack Obama walks to a briefing to speak about the government shutdown at FEMA's National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 7.

House Speaker John Boehner arrives on Capitol Hill on Oct. 7. The Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate are at an impasse, neither side backing down, after House GOP conservatives linked the funding bill to President Obama's existent health care law.

Furloughed federal workers protest outside the U.S. Capitol to demand an end to the lockout of federal workers caused by the government shutdown on Oct. 4 in Washington, D.C.

One person is seen on a Metro rail car during the morning rush-hour commute Oct. 3 in Vienna, Va. The train left the Vienna station with three people on the car and had only 17 riders by the time it reached McPherson Square near the White House. The government shutdown has eased the commute to and from Washington for many, but it is costly for Metro as revenue drops.

Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) walks along the Senate subway at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 3.

Furloughed government union workers demonstrate along Constitution Avenue, Oct. 2, in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of thousands of government workers have been furloughed during the government shutdown as the House of Representatives and Senate remain gridlocked over funding the federal government.

Children from the Head Start program at the Edward C. Mazique Parent Child Center join supporters and members of Congress to call for an end to the shutdown and to fund the comprehensive education, health and nutrition service for low-income children and their families on Oct. 2 outside the U.S. Capitol.

Vicki Maturo, of Culver City, Calif., chants during a protest against the government shutdown outside the federal building in Los Angeles, Oct. 2.

A U.S. Capitol Police Officer walks past a statue of Gerald Ford, who was president during the 1976 shutdown of the federal government, in the Rotunda of the Capitol while the building was closed to tours on Oct. 1.

A sign indicates the House dining room is closed at the U.S Capitol, Oct. 1.

Maj. Ryan Burke scans the nearly empty shelves in the meat section at the Fort Carson Commissary in Colorado Springs, Colo., Oct. 1. The commissary was busier than normal with news that it will close until further notice because of the government shutdown.

Would-be visitors to Joshua Tree National Park in California are stopped at a roadblock at the west entrance on Oct. 1.

A barricade prevents visitors from entering the interior of the Badlands National Park on Oct. 1 near Wall, S.D. All national parks were closed after Congress failed to pass a funding bill.

Park Ranger Dustin Eads places barriers at the south entrance to Grand Teton National Park, closing off the park to tourists because of the government shutdown on Oct. 1, 2013. The impact of the first government shutdown in 17 years was felt across America as offices were shuttered and workers were sent home after lawmakers failed to come to a deal to keep the lights on.

"We're really pissed off," says Narelle Ledwell, shown here taking a picture of her children, Brittany, 15, Jordan, 11, and her husband Jeff on Oct 1. "We came halfway around the world to see this." The Ledwells were on holiday from Sydney, Australia and had tickets to visit the Statue of Liberty but it was closed due to the government shutdown. So the Ledwells instead boarded the privately-run M/V Countess for a one hour harbor tour. "It's really dumb that they can do this, it would never happen in Australia. It's a joke," Narelle said.

Park Rangers erect barricades at Independence National Historical Park in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia on Oct. 1.

Visitors to the Jefferson Memorial are turned away by barricades in Washington, D.C, on Oct. 1.

Tourists stop to take pictures near the entrance to Mount Rushmore National Memorial on Oct. 1, 2013, in Keystone, South Dakota. Mount Rushmore and all other national parks were closed because of the government shutdown.

A veteran tours the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1. Despite the U.S. government shutdown, a barricade was temporarily removed to give veterans access to the memorial.

A U.S. Park Police Officer and National Park Service employees close the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall on Oct. 1 in Washington, D.C.

Brazilian tourists look into the closed Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C, on Oct. 1.

The Capitol is mirrored in the reflecting pool on Capitol Hill in Washington early on Oct. 1.