Déjà Vu for Americans: What Does a Government Shutdown Mean?
The federal government of the United States closed at midnight on Wednesday after Senate Democrats opposed a Republican proposal to extend government funding, according to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and Sky news.
The main point of contention between the two parties was healthcare services. However, the shutdown means that nearly all non-essential federal operations may halt entirely until an agreement is reached.
What does this mean for the U.S., and has this happened in previous years?
What is a government shutdown?
A federal government shutdown means that all non-essential government activities stop. This pause affects everything from Social security payments and air travel to access to national parks.
Federal agencies rely on congressional budget approval so that the president can sign the fiscal year’s budget into law.
If disagreements prevent this approval-as currently seen in a deeply divided political climate-these agencies must close. This means employees cannot work and will not receive pay during the shutdown.
Which sectors continue operating?
Essential federal agencies remain open. the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) continue their work, air traffic control remains active, border security forces stay on duty, and the national power grid remains unaffected.
Social Security payments continue, as do healthcare services for veterans and beneficiaries reliant on medicare or other federal health insurance programs. The Postal Service also keeps delivering mail.
What happens to employees?
During the last shutdown in 2018, out of 800,000 federal workers, 340,000 were placed on mandatory furloughs. Employees furloughed receive back pay once they return to work,but payment delays can strain families amid rising living costs.
The decision about who is furloughed versus who continues working rests with individual agencies-although both the White House Office of Management and Budget and President Biden have threatened widespread layoffs!
Any layoffs would add pressure to agencies already affected earlier this year by large staff reductions under a Department of Efficiency plan previously guided by billionaire Elon Musk.
Why does this seem familiar?
This has happened many times before. Since the mid-1970s, Americans have experienced 20 instances of funding gaps or partial government shutdowns.
- The U.S. government shut down for about a month in 1995 when president Clinton’s management clashed with a Republican-controlled Congress over spending levels;
- The most recent extended shutdown occured in 2018 when Democrats blocked President Trump’s spending bill tied to border wall funding-this lasted 35 days;
- Other prior shutdowns lasted less than a week each.
