The United States Government Shutdowns and Emergency Declarations. Kofi Aninakwa

they eat lunch.

       Calls to many of those federal offices, such as the Bureau of Land Management, result in outgoing voicemail messages that explain the office is closed because of “the lapse in appropriations.”

       Colorado has more than 50,000 federal employees, many of whom are still on the job. But the state also has large numbers of federal departments affected by the partial shutdown, including about 6,500 workers with the Interior Department, 3,700 employees with the Agriculture Department, and 1,400 workers with the Department of Transportation. Fewer people in office parks mean fewer people going out to lunch.