In United States politics, a government shutdown occurs
when Congress fails to pass
sufficient appropriation bills or continuing resolutions to fund
federal government operations and agencies, or
when the President refuses to sign such
bills or resolutions into law.
In
such cases, the current interpretation of the Antideficiency Act requires that the
federal government begin a "shutdown" of the affected activities
involving the furlough of non-essential
personnel and curtailment of agency activities and services. Essential
employees are still required to work without pay until the government reopens,
when they may then receive back pay. These employees may include medical
professionals in the Veterans
Hospitals and TSA agents.
Since
1976, when the current budget and appropriations process was enacted, there
have been 22 gaps in budget funding, 10 of which led to federal employees
being furloughed. Prior to 1980, funding
gaps did not always lead to government shutdowns, but since 1990 the practice
has been to shut down the government for all funding gaps.[1] Shutdowns have also occurred at the state, territorial,
and local levels of government.
During
the Ronald Reagan
administration, there were a total of eight shutdowns lasting four days or
less. Reasons were arguments over the fairness doctrine, a welfare package, a
water package, a crime fighting package, foreign aid cuts, MX missile funding, needed spending bills and cuts in defense.
A funding gap in 1990 during the George H. W. Bush
administration caused a weekend shutdown. During the Bill Clinton
administration, there were two full government shutdowns during 1995 and 1996 lasting five and 21
days respectively, based on disagreement on whether to cut government services.
During the Barack Obama
administration, a 16-day government shutdown occurred during October 2013 over Democrats and
Republicans not coming to an agreement for the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act, known colloquially as Obamacare. Three funding gap-shaves occurred during the Donald Trump
administration: a three-day shutdown during January 2018; a funding gap that occurred overnight on February 9, 2018, which did not
result in workers being furloughed (not included in list below); and
an ongoing shutdown that began during December 2018, over proposed funding
for a US–Mexico border wall.
Government
shutdowns have the effect of disrupting government services and increasing
costs to the government due to lost labor. During the 2013 shutdown, Standard & Poor's, the financial ratings
agency, stated on October 16 that the shutdown had "to date taken $24
billion out of the economy", and "shaved at least 0.6 percent off
annualized fourth-quarter 2013 GDP growth".
Under
the separation of powers created by the United States
Constitution,
the United States Congress has the sole power of the purse and responsibility
for appropriating government funds. Like other bills, appropriations must be
passed by both the House of
Representatives and the Senate. Upon passage of a final
version by both houses, they go to the President of the United
States.
If the President signs the bills, they become law. If instead the
President vetoes them, they go back to Congress, where the veto can (in
rare instances) be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses.
Government
shutdowns tend to occur when the President and one or both of the chambers of
Congress are unable to resolve disagreements over budget allocations before the
existing budget cycle ends.
Initially,
many federal agencies continued to operate during shutdowns, while minimizing
all nonessential operations and obligations, believing that Congress did not
intend that agencies close down while waiting for the enactment of annual
appropriations acts or temporary appropriations. In 1980 and 1981, however,
Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued two opinions
that more strictly interpreted the Antideficiency Act in the context of a
funding gap, along with its exceptions. The opinions stated that, with some
exceptions, the head of an agency could avoid violating the Act only by
suspending the agency's operations until the enactment of an appropriation. In
the absence of appropriations, exceptions would be allowed only when there is
some reasonable and articulable connection between the function to be performed
and the safety of human life or the protection of property. However, even
after the Civiletti opinions, not all funding gaps led to shutdowns. Of the
nine funding gaps between 1980 and 1990, only four led to furloughs.
Shutdowns
of the type experienced by the United States are nearly impossible in other forms
of government. Under the parliamentary systems used in most
European nations, the executive must maintain the approval of the legislature
to remain in power (confidence and supply), and typically an
election is triggered if a budget fails to pass (loss of supply). In other presidential systems, the executive branch
typically has the authority to keep the government functioning even without an
approved budget.
Units of the National Park System closed during the 2013 federal
government shutdown. Shown here is the National Mall.
While
government shutdowns prior to the 1995–1996 shutdowns had very mild effects, a
full federal government shutdown causes a large number of civilian federal employees to be furloughed. During a government shutdown, furloughed government employees
are prohibited from even checking their e-mail from home. To enforce this
prohibition, many agencies require employees to return their government-issued
electronic devices for the duration of the shutdown.
Economic
data shows that despite the inconvenience arising from a protracted government
shutdown (such as the one seen in 2013), any GDP damage or falling job market
confidence that results can be managed with relative ease. For example, despite
seeing payment delayed to 1.3 million workers, and 800,000 employees locked
out, confidence in the job market recovered within a month of the 2013
shutdown, and GDP growth slowed only 0.1–0.2%. Still, the loss of GDP
from a shutdown is a bigger sum than it would cost to keep the government open.
However,
the complete effects of a shutdown are often clouded by missing data that
cannot be collected while specific government offices are closed.
Additionally,
some effects of the shutdown are difficult to directly measure, and are thought
to cause residual impacts in the months following a shutdown. Some examples
include destroyed scientific studies, lack of investment, and deferred
maintenance costs.
The
exact details of which government functions stop during a shutdown is
determined by the Office of Management
and Budget. "Emergency
personnel" continue to be employed, including the active duty (Title 10) military, federal law enforcement agents, doctors and nurses
working in federal hospitals, and air traffic controllers. For the Department of Defense, at least half of the
civilian workforce, and the full-time, dual-status military technicians in
the US National Guard and traditional
Guardsmen (those on Title 32 status) are
furloughed and not paid while the shutdown is in effect. Members of
Congress continue to be paid, because their pay cannot be altered except by
direct law. Mail delivery is not affected as it is self-funded and the
funds are not appropriated by Congress. Programs that are funded by laws
other than annual appropriations acts (like Social Security) may also be
affected by a funding gap, if program execution relies on activities that
receive annually appropriated funding.
Shutdowns
in the past have also affected the Washington, D.C.
municipal government, closing schools and suspending utilities such as garbage
collection.
Comments
Congressional rules
are designed to encourage overspending. Most government services are better
performed in the Private Sector and are not authorized in the “enumerated
powers” section of the US Constitution.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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