A few days ago Republican Sen. Tom Coburn asked the Congressional Research Service to look into what would happen to the implementation of Obamacare if the government were to shut down. On Monday, Coburn got his answer: Obamacare would likely go on, whether the government shuts down or not.

The CRS report explains that Congress created a variety of sources of mandatory funds — money that would continue to flow even in a government shutdown — that the administration could use to fund Obamacare. Because of threats of a shutdown last year, the administration has already studied ways to keep Obamacare going, and CRS pointed toward several sources of money the administration is using for the job now. Among them: $235 million from the Health Insurance Reform Implementation Fund; $454 million from the Prevention and Public Health Fund (which has a permanent appropriation in Obamacare); $450 million from the Department of Health and Human Services Nonrecurring Expenses Fund; and $116 million from the HHS secretary’s authority to transfer funds within the department.