Government shutdowns in the United States

Letter from President Barack Obama to US Government employees affected by the shutdown in 2013

In United States politics, a government shutdown occurs when Congress and the President fail to pass appropriations legislation funding government operations and agencies. In this case, 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. Since 1976, when the current budget and appropriations process was enacted, there have been 18 gaps in budget funding, eight of which led to federal employees being furloughed. Prior to 1990, 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. Shutdowns have also occurred at the state/territorial and local levels of government.

During the Ronald Reagan administration, there were three funding gaps leading to shutdowns lasting one day or less. 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 5 and 21 days respectively, based on disagreement on whether to cut government services, leading to furloughs and significant disruption. During Barack Obama's presidency, a government shutdown occurred during October 1–16, 2013. The primary dispute was the Republicans' desire to delay or defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Actknown colloquially as Obamacare.^[1] A shutdown began at midnight, 12:01 AM 20 January 2018 (Saturday); essential services continue, but armed service personnel on duty, for example, would not be paid until the shutdown ends.^[2]^[3]

Government shutdowns have the effect of disruption to government services and increased cost 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."^[4]

Mechanism[edit]

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. The appropriations bills must start in the House of Representatives and then be approved by the Senate, which upon passage of a final version by both houses then go to the President of the United States. If the President signs the bill, they become a law. If the President vetoes the bills, they go back to Congress, where the veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote. 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.^[5]

Initially, many federal agencies continued to operate during a shutdown, 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 Civilettiissued 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.^[6]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.^[7]

Shutdowns of the type experienced by the United States are nearly impossible in other democracies. Under the parliamentary system used in most European nations, the executive and legislative branch are not separate, with the parliament designating all executive officials, typically called "ministers", and typically an election is triggered if a budget fails to pass. In many other non-parliamentary democracies, a strong executive branch typically has the authority to keep the government functioning even without an approved budget.^[8]

Effects[edit]

Units of the National Park System are closed during a federal government shutdown. Shown here is the National Mall closed during the 2013 shutdown.

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.^[9]

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,^[10] confidence in the job market recovered within a month of the 2013 shutdown,^[11]^[12] and GDP growth slowed only 0.1-0.2%.^[10]

However, the complete effects of a shutdown are often clouded by missing data that cannot be collected while specific government offices are closed.^[10]

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.^[13]^[14]

The exact details of which government functions stop during a shutdown is determined by the Office of Management and Budget.^[15]"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.^[15] 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.^[16]^[17] Members of Congress continue to be paid, because their pay cannot be altered except by direct law.^[18] Mail delivery is not affected as it is self-funded and the funds are not appropriated by Congress.^[19] Programs that are funded by laws other than annual appropriations acts (like Social Security) also may be affected by a funding gap, if program execution relies on activities that receive annually appropriated funding.^[6]

Shutdowns in the past have also affected the Washington, D.C., municipal government, closing schools and suspending utilities such as garbage collection.^[20]

List of federal shutdowns[edit]

This list includes only funding gaps that led to actual employee furloughs. Not all funding gaps have led to shutdowns, even after the Civiletti opinions of 1980 and 1981.^[7] For example, a brief funding gap in 1982 did not involve furloughs, with nonessential workers told to report to work but to cancel meetings and not perform their ordinary duties;^[21] a three-day funding gap in November 1983 reportedly led to no disruption to government services;^[7] and in 1984 it was considered rare for a funding gap to cause federal employees to be actually ordered to cease work.^[22]

1980[edit]

On May 1, 1980, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was shut down for one day after Congress failed to pass an appropriations bill for the agency. It occurred just days after the issuance of Civiletti's opinion on April 25.^[23] This was the first time a federal agency shut down due to a budget dispute.^[24] Federal Marshals were deployed to some FTC facilities to enforce the shutdown.^[25] 1,600 workers were furloughed, and the shutdown cost $700,000.^[23]^[26]

1981[edit]

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A recorded message used by the White House telephone switchboard during the 1981 shutdown

On November 23, 1981, 241,000 federal employees were furloughed for one day.^[27] The shutdown occurred because President Ronald Reagan vetoed a spending bill that contained a smaller set of spending cuts than he had proposed.^[28] The shutdown was estimated to cost taxpayers $80–90 million in back pay and other expenses.^[27] Not all government departments shut down during the funding gap.^[29]

1984[edit]

On October 4, 1984, 500,000 federal employees were furloughed for one afternoon.^[27] This shutdown occurred due to the inclusion of a water projects package and a civil rights measure that Reagan opposed. The bill was passed the following day after Congress removed these programs, and also included a compromise on funding of the Nicaraguan Contras.^[28] The shutdown only covered nine out of the 13 appropriations bills that had not been passed at that point.^[22] Back pay was estimated at $65 million.^[27]

1986[edit]

On October 17, 1986, 500,000 federal employees were furloughed for one afternoon over a wide range of issues.^[27]^[28] The cost was estimated at $62 million in lost work.^[27]

1990[edit]

The 1990 shutdown occurred over Columbus Day weekend, from Saturday, October 6 through Monday, October 8.^[27] The shutdown stemmed from the fact that a deficit reductionpackage negotiated by President George H. W. Bush contained tax increases, despite his campaign promise of "read my lips: no new taxes",^[30] leading to a revolt led by then House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich that defeated the initial appropriations package.^[31]^[32] Because the shutdown occurred over a weekend, the effects of the shutdown were lessened, with the National Parks and the Smithsonian museums being the most visible closures.^[27] Around 2,800 workers were furloughed, with the government losing $2.57 million in lost revenue and back wages.^[33]

1995–1996[edit]

The two shutdowns of 1995 and 1995–96 were the result of conflicts between Democratic President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress over funding for Medicare, education, the environment, and public health in the 1996 federal budget. The government shut down after Clinton vetoed the spending bill the Republican Party-controlled Congress sent him. Government workers were furloughed and non-essential services suspended during November 14–19, 1995, and from December 16, 1995, to January 6, 1996, for a total of 27 days. The major players were President Clinton and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich.

The first of the two shutdowns caused the furlough of about 800,000 workers, while the second caused about 284,000 workers to be furloughed.^[6]

2013[edit]

The 2013 shutdown occurred during October 1–16, 2013. During the shutdown, approximately 800,000 federal employees were indefinitely furloughed, and another 1.3 million were required to report to work without known payment dates.^[34] The deadlock centered on the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014. The Republican-led House of Representatives, in part encouraged by conservative senators such as Ted Cruz^[35] and conservative groups such as Heritage Action,^[36]^[37]^[38] offered several continuing resolutions with language delaying or defunding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly known as "Obamacare"). The Democratic-led Senate passed several amended continuing resolutions for maintaining funding at then-current sequestration levels with no additional conditions. Political fights over this and other issues between the House on one side and President Barack Obama and the Senate on the other led to a budget impasse which threatened massive disruption.^[39]^[40]^[41] Late in the evening of October 16, 2013, Congress passed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014, and the President signed it shortly after midnight on October 17, ending the government shutdown and suspending the debt limit until February 7, 2014.^[42]

2018[edit]

The 2018 shutdown began at 12:00 AM EST on January 20, 2018. The federal government has shutdown 5 times under single party control in the past, all of them under Jimmy Carter with Democratic Congressional majority.

State and territory governments[edit]

Year	Start date	End date	Total days	Location	References
1991	Jul 1	Jul 17	17	Maine	^[43]
1991	Jul 1	Aug 23	54	Connecticut	^[43]
1991	Jul 2	Aug 4	34	Pennsylvania	^[43]
2002	Jul 1	Jul 3	3	Tennessee	^[44]^[43]
2005	Jul 1	Jul 9	9	Minnesota	^[45]
2006	May 1	May 13	13	Puerto Rico
2006	Jul 1	Jul 8	8	New Jersey	^[46]
2007	Oct 1	Oct 1	1	Michigan	^[47]
2007	Jul 11	Jul 12	1	Pennsylvania	^[48]^[49]
2009	Oct 1	Oct 1	1	Michigan	^[50]
2011	Jul 1	Jul 20	20	Minnesota
2015	Jul 1	Jul 6	6	Illinois
2017	Jul 1	Jul 4	3	New Jersey	^[51]^[52]
2017	Jul 1	Jul 4	4	Maine	^[53]