The publication Foreign Policy reports that U.S. military officials claim about half of the Pentagon's 800,000 civilian employees were placed on unpaid leave Tuesday after Republicans and Democrats in Congress failed to reach a deal on a spending bill for the new fiscal year.
Despite the lack of funds, more than $5 billion was spent on everything from robot submarines to Finnish hand grenades and a radar base mounted on an offshore oil platform, according to the report.
In its last-minute spending spree, the Pentagon gave $2.5 to aircraft engine-maker Pratt & Whitney for "various weapons system spare parts" used by the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
Report from Washington say that the spending shows that even when the federal government is being closed down, the Pentagon can spend money as fast as it can be printed.