The partial federal government shutdown does not include Hamilton's Rocky Mountain Laboratories. Associate Director Marshall Bloom told KLYQ that it is one of the essential parts of government unaffected by the current shutdown. He said, "Rocky Mountain Labs, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, are not affected by this particular government shutdown."

Bloom said the lab's budget was passed by Congress last fall. "Last September, our budget, along with several of the other agencies, was approved and signed. So, in essence, everyone here at RML is working and it's business as usual." Some of those other agencies that are open are the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration.

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