Earlier this week, the U.S. Government shut down after Congress failed to pass funding legislation.
It’s the 21st shutdown since 1977, and has triggered the indefinite pause of most federal services, putting tens of thousands of federal employees out of work.
But what actually is a shutdown? How does an entire government just stop? Let’s dive in.
Budget
A U.S. Government shutdown happens when Congress fails to pass legislation to fund federal operations.
The U.S. Government operates on a fiscal year that runs from 1 October to 30 September.
Towards the end of a fiscal year, the party that controls the House presents a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The proposed budget is first introduced by the President, usually in February.
The budget then needs to be passed by Congress for it to come into effect. Congress is made up of the House and the Senate.
In the House: A bill needs 218 votes to pass and go to the Senate. The Republicans currently have a narrow majority in the House, with 219 seats. The Democrats have 213 seats, with three vacancies.
In the Senate: A budget then needs 60 votes to pass through the Senate (most bills need 51). The Republicans have 53 seats, while the Democrats have 47, and there are two Democrat-leaning independents.
Just as in Australia, the budget is a reflection of the Government’s political goals — a way to introduce new measures or reduce funding in specific portfolios.
Almost always, the two sides disagree on some budget measures. They then enter a period of negotiation, hoping to find a resolution.
If Congress predicts a resolution won’t be reached by 30 September, the parties can agree on a temporary funding measure, called a Continuing Resolution (CR). This typically means that the Federal Government is granted an additional 30-60 days of funding while negotiations continue.
Shutdown
If Congress doesn’t pass a budget and can’t agree on the structure of a CR before the fiscal year ends, federal agencies run out of legal authority to spend money and must cease non-essential operations.
During a shutdown, approximately 25% of federal operations stop functioning.
The other 75% continues either because those agencies already have funding approved for the year, or because they’re funded through mandatory spending programs that don’t require annual congressional approval.
Pay
As many as four million federal government employees can go without pay during a shutdown. These workers are divided into two categories:
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Furloughed workers: Non-essential federal employees are sent home without pay. They cannot work during the shutdown, even as volunteers.
Essential workers: Some workers are deemed essential and told to continue working without pay until the shutdown ends. These workers include airport security personnel, air traffic controllers, and some military personnel.
How did we get here?
The Republican-controlled House passed a CR in September that would extend government funding until 21 November.
However, the bill stalled in the Senate, where Republicans needed the support of at least seven Democrats to reach the 60-vote mark.
U.S. President Donald Trump met with Democratic and Republican leaders at the White House earlier this week to negotiate, but the meeting failed to produce an agreement. Hence, it went into shutdown.
There are a number of reasons the parties cannot reach an agreement, including:
Healthcare: Democrats want temporary healthcare subsidies introduced under former President Barack Obama to become permanent, because they expire this year. Republicans oppose this due to the increased cost.
There are also debates about proposed cuts to some health agencies and the availability of healthcare to undocumented migrants.
Presidential authority:Democrats also want to restrict the President’s ability to withhold funding for programs that have already been approved by Congress.
Republicans argue this issue has been resolved by a Supreme Court ruling, and executive control should not be limited.
Past shutdowns
This is the 21st shutdown since 1977.
The longest in history was 35 days, occurring during Trump’s first term in 2018. 300,000 federal workers were furloughed and unpaid, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
During long government shutdowns, federal employees and military service members have been forced to rely on food banks and have been unable to afford the petrol to commute to work if they were deemed essential workers.
What's different now?
Usually, a government shutdown is seen by both parties as a negative outcome that harms their favourability with voters and puts stress on essential services, including security and emergency services.
When a shutdown starts, the two parties will often hold emergency negotiations aimed at ending the shutdown.
However, the Trump Administration has positioned a shutdown as an opportunity to permanently close some federal agencies, furthering its stated goal of shrinking the Federal Government and reducing U.S. debt.
