How is this even possible if the Government is closed down? What they don't have bank accounts or savings they can live off of?

House approves bill on back pay for furloughed workers 

A partial government shutdown entered its fifth day Saturday, with Congress convening for a session that promised no progress in breaking the impasse but at least saw the passing of a bill offering back pay to furloughed federal workers.

The GOP House voted to pass the legislation, which is backed by the White House and congressional Democrats, and would make sure the 800,000 sidelined government employees would get their pay when the shutdown ends. The Senate is likewise expected to clear the bill for President Barack Obama's signature.

Later on Saturday, the Pentagon announced that it is ordering most of its 400,000 furloughed civilian staff back to work. Under a liberal interpretation of a law passed last week to ensure military personnel would continue to get paid, government lawyers concluded that the act allowed the elimination of furloughs for “employees whose responsibilities contribute to the morale, well-being, capabilities and readiness of service members.”  

The move will likely see a return to work for at least a quarter of the total number of federal employees temporarily laid off as a result of the shutdown.

But Saturday’s session in Congress gave no indication when government staff outside of the Department of Defense would be called back in.

In a news conference, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., continued to press House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to allow a vote in the House that would bring the shutdown to an end. 

Expressing satisfaction that the House voted to give furloughed workers back pay once they are allowed to return to work, Pelosi added, "Why don't we vote to pay government employees to work?"

Lawmakers keep replaying the same script on Capitol Hill: House Republicans pass piecemeal bills to reopen popular and politically sensitive programs — on Friday, disaster relief and food aid for the poor — while Democrats insist that the House vote on a straightforward Senate-passed measure to reopen all of government.  more