September 21, 2023
We are barreling towards a government shutdown in just a few days.
And so many of you have asked – what happens during a government shutdown? What’s open, what’s closed?
This is a deep dive video and I’m going to answer all that for you. So make sure you watch it and share it with anyone who has questions.
First – you have to understand a government shut down is not random. It’s scheduled. And if it happens, it doesn’t mean the US government is broke and it doesn’t mean the government has no money. The US government has plenty of money. If the government shuts down it means Congress failed to do the one job it has. See — the US government runs on a fiscal year from October 1 through September 30th. And every single year it is Congress’s job to find a way to fund the government before the fiscal year ends. That means it’s Congress’s job to figure out how much money each department and agency will get in their budget and figure out which priorities will be funded and which will not. And if September 30th comes and there is no spending plan approved by both the House and the Senate and signed by the President, no government agencies or department get their budget allotments, so they don’t have money to operate, they have to close and the government shuts down.
Make sense?
Ok – now that you know *how government shutdowns happen, let’s talk about *what* happens when the government shutdown. In a shutdown, the federal government must stop all non-essential functions until a spending bill is passed. Each agency and department determines what work is essential and what is not.
The white house keeps a department by department list of shutdown plans and I will email that out to you tonight in my News Girl News Roundup email. So make sure you sign yourself up.
So how does each department and agency decide which workers are essential and which are not?
The Antideficiency act defines essential as – if it’s shut down it would “imminently threaten the safety of human life or the protection of property.” So any agency or federal employee whose job it is to protect the safety of human life or protection of property will stay working and everyone else will be furloughed. And if they are a federal employee who is considered essential – it is very likely they will have to work but will not receive a paycheck. Once the government is funded – by law — they will receive back pay. But that could be weeks or more than a month depending on how long it takes congress to pass a spending bill.
So now that we know which workers are considered essential you can probably guess which departments stay open during a government shutdown.
Active-duty military members, many federal law enforcement officers including border patrol, air traffic controllers, TSA officers and employees at federally funded hospitals are usually considered essential so they will still have to report to work and they will likely not be paid. The VA will also stay open. But you know who is considered essential and still gets paid? Congress. Yes, the people responsible for the shutdown report to work – and still get a paycheck.
Now – here’s what will close.
Depending on how long the shutdown lasts, national parks could close, passport processing could slow down or stop. Federal courts – including immigration courts could start postponing or canceling hearings and some federal government contractors may not get paid. Entitlement programs like Social Security, Disability, Medicare, Medicaid will still be processed and the post office stays open, however some of the federal employees who work at those places are considered non-essential so if you’re looking to get at help at those places or want to process new disability or social security claim – or have questions about your existing benefits – getting those answers may become difficult.
The last time the government shutdown was for 35 days under President Trump in 2018 and 2019. At the time — that was the longest shutdown in 40 years. The standoff – in congress back then – was over the former President’s demand for almost $6 billion to fund his border wall project. The shutdown cost the American economy billions of dollars and after five weeks, former president trump ultimately signed a spending plan did not include the funding he wanted for the wall.
So – what’s the political point of a shutdown?
Really? Nothing. It’s just a failure of congress. It doesn’t hurt the lawmakers on capitol hill and it doesn’t fundamentally change how the government functions, it doesn’t make government smaller. In the short term — it only hurts the federal workers and you and me. But – historically those lawmakers who are responsible for the shutdown do eventually feel the pain when voters go to the ballot box.
Look at the department by department list of shutdown contingency plans here.
