Five Facts on US Government Shutdowns
When Congress narrowly avoided a debt ceiling disaster earlier this year, part of the deal included funding the federal government through the end of September, when fiscal year 2023 comes to a close. As members of the House and Senate return from their summer recess, reaching another funding deal will have to be a top priority over the next few weeks to prevent yet another government shutdown.
Here are Five Facts about the looming shutdown and the impact these lapses in funding have.
- The US has passed all its mandatory spending bills on time only four times since 1974.
In the US, Congress is responsible for passing bills that fund the government's activities. This needs to be done every fiscal year, which starts on October 1st and ends on September 30th, to avoid a government shutdown. But since 1974, there have only been four times when Congress actually got this done without any delays or stopgaps, and never in the 21st century. That means for most years, there have been short-term continuing resolutions that keep the government funded at existing levels. Rank-and-file members have routinely criticized this process as it gives them little chance to review the contents of the bill they are voting on. Meanwhile, the threat of a shutdown has become a preferred negotiating tactic for more and more partisan members.
- Many essential government workers have to work without pay during a shutdown.
The term "government shutdown" might make you picture a complete standstill, but that's not the case. Essential services like the military, air traffic control, and Social Security checks keep going. The people who work in these areas are often expected to work without immediate pay. But many non-essential services, like national parks and certain research activities, do shut down, which can cause both inconvenience and economic losses.
- The longest government shutdown took place in 2018 and 2019 and lasted 35 days.
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history took place from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019. This 35-day ordeal was mainly due to disagreements over funding for Donald Trump’s proposed border wall. About 800,000 federal employees were furloughed or had to work without immediate pay.
- A 2019 study found that three government shutdowns between 2013 and 2019 cost taxpayers nearly $4 billion combined.
Shutdowns are more than just political drama—they're costly. When the government shuts down, most federal agencies halt their operations. A study in 2019 by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations discovered that just three shutdowns that happened between 2013 and 2019 racked up a bill of nearly $4 billion. This includes lost productivity, back pay for furloughed federal employees, and other costs.
- The federal budget deficit is projected to hit $2 trillion in fiscal year 2023, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
This is nearly double the previous year's deficit, exacerbated by falling tax revenues and increased mandatory spending in areas like Social Security and Medicare. The projection does not account for the now-struck-down Biden federal student debt cancellation plan. Experts warn that the ballooning deficit could make the upcoming negotiations to avoid a shutdown even more contentious.
