As a history buff, this story published by Defense News really floats my boat. Home Post reported earlier today that Department of Defense officials are trying to figure out what part of their operations will be hurt by a shutdown of the federal government - a shutdown that's bound to happen if President Obama and Congress don't come up with a budget agreement before Friday.
Well, according to the Defense News, the different branches of the military may invoke a law created in 1861 during the Civil War (or the War of Northern Aggression as they called it when I lived in the South) to help guide them during a government shutdown. The law is called the "Feed and Forage Act":
If the military decides to use the law to keep operations going, it must notify Congress, who will then reimburse the Department of Defense once the government starts running again. Wild, huh?
