Get the Facts: Explaining a government shutdown
As Congress struggles to pass a budget to avoid a shutdown, what actually happens if a shutdown goes through?
As Congress struggles to pass a budget to avoid a shutdown, what actually happens if a shutdown goes through?
As Congress struggles to pass a budget to avoid a shutdown, what actually happens if a shutdown goes through?
With Congress at a stalemate, government agencies are preparing for a potential shutdown that could disrupt services and impact federal workers.
A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass a short-term or year-long budget, causing the government to legally lose its authority to spend money. This situation often arises from political gridlock, where lawmakers in Washington clash, sometimes using the threat of a shutdown as political leverage to push certain policies.
When a shutdown happens, not all government operations close completely. Agencies implement a contingency plan that divides duties and staff into essential and non-essential categories.
Non-essential operations are the first to stop, which typically means services like visitor operations at national parks could halt, and certain loans or research grants might not be processed. However, essential services needed to protect life and property continue.
Postal service employees, active-duty military, and air traffic controllers usually remain on the job, ensuring that mail delivery and air travel continue. Social Security checks will still be distributed, while other government benefits like SNAP and WIC depend on leftover funds from prior year spending.
The impact of a shutdown can extend beyond its duration, as any halted operations likely create a backlog, leading to longer waits for certain government services.
For hundreds of thousands of federal workers across the country, a shutdown means uncertainty. In past shutdowns, some workers have been furloughed, sent home without pay, while others deemed "essential" may have to work without pay until the shutdown ends.
Although a law requires them to receive back pay, many government contractors do not recover the money they lost.
More coverage from the Washington News Bureau on the potential of a government shutdown:
