The Way A Government Shut Down Works and How Americans and Others Get Affected
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| Congress — the only entity that can bring a shutdown to an end — does not go dark. But congressional staffers are subject to the same furloughs as other federal workers.Alex Kent for The New York Times |
Reporting from Washington
New York Times
A shutdown occurs when Congress cannot reach a deal to continue government funding by the time current funding lapses. One would begin at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday if Democrats and Republicans cannot come to an agreement.
In some parts of the federal government, there is an immediate impact. But not every federally funded initiative is at the mercy of Congress’s budgeting standoffs, and even some that are may be able to rely on cash reserves to get through a brief shutdown.
But if the two sides dig in, the consequences could be significant and lasting. Here is what to know. What shuts down? What doesn’t?
The effects of a shutdown tend to unfold in stages. Some of the most visible expected closures are museums and monuments. Those planning a trip to a national park or the National Mall may find themselves greeted by locked doors and no entry signs if the shutdown lasts more than a few days. And federal workers will see their paychecks stop for the duration of a shutdown — even if they have to stay on the job.
Department to department, the impacts vary. The Postal Service, which is self-funded, and Social Security and Medicare benefits, which are considered “mandatory” spending, should keep on going. While most federal workers are likely to be furloughed, those designated as “excepted,” such as active-duty troops, air traffic controllers and federal law enforcement officers, stay on the job, even though they cannot be paid for that work until after the shutdown is over.
Congress — the only entity that can bring a shutdown to an end — does not go dark. But congressional staffers are subject to the same furloughs as other federal workers.
Who decides what workers are ‘excepted’? Do essential employees have to work without pay?
It is up to every department, agency and congressional office to make contingency plans for a shutdown, including who stays on and who goes home. Whether they work or not, employees at federal agencies affected by a shutdown are not paid until the government opens again.
While much is left to the discretion of managers, designating “essential” workers ensures that even in the case of a federal shutdown, the government can continue to preserve public safety. That is why active-duty military members are traditionally required to keep working, as are officials at the F.B.I., Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Secret Service, among others. It is also why air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers traditionally must work, albeit without pay. In the past, Congress had to approve back pay to make furloughed and excepted workers whole. But after the last shutdown — a 35-day ordeal that began in December 2018 — Congress passed a law to make back pay for federal employees automatic once the government opens.
How long will it last?
It depends on how bitterly opposed the two parties are — and how willing each side is to dig in for the long haul. For now, the impasse has centered on health care, as Democrats demand that Republicans agree to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. They are also looking to reverse cuts to Medicaid and other health programs in President Trump’s tax and domestic policy law.
Republicans control both houses of Congress, but they need at least seven more Senate votes to bypass procedural hurdles and reopen the government if all members of their party hang together. In March, they managed to avoid a shutdown, but the political blowback against Democrats who broke rank was severe, motivating the party to stand firmer this time.
Still, as constituents begin to lose pay and access to federal services, the cost-benefit analysis of a shutdown for each senator may start to shift. In early 2019, slowdowns at airports — fueled in part by air traffic controllers and T.S.A. agents calling in sick — helped to bring an end to the longest shutdown on record.
What happens with the courts?
The federal courts are a bit of a hybrid: They are subject to federal appropriations, but they also collect fees, and historically have been able to tap into reserves to continue services. But some district courts are already facing funding shortfalls, and it is unclear how long each jurisdiction would be able to operate before cases are delayed. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the federal judiciary expects to continue full operations through Oct. 3. But if the shutdown goes longer, courts may have to limit their work to “activities needed to support the exercise of the
. The salaries of federal judges and Supreme Court justices are considered mandatory spending, but furloughs are expected to affect court staff members.
A shutdown-induced slowdown in the federal courts is particularly significant in the current climate, as the judiciary has been the main forum for mounting challenges to Trump administration policies. Immigrants facing deportation, laid off federal workers and holders of terminated federal contracts have turned to the federal courts for relief, adding volume and urgency to what were already robust dockets.
It is also unclear how furloughs at the Justice Department, whose litigators argue on behalf of the government, could affect the timing of certain cases. Jurors in federal cases would not be paid during a shutdown, though they would receive back pay when the government reopens.
What about government contracts?
Contractors — including the companies, nonprofits and service providers who rely on federal funding — are also facing a hybrid situation. Their funding is at the mercy of the federal government reopening, and they are not covered by the 2019 law guaranteeing back pay. But depending on the disbursement schedule of the federal government’s payments to them, they may be able to get through a short shutdown relatively unscathed.
The federal government does not have the ability to claw back funds that have already been disbursed to contractors, so programs and positions that have been fully funded before a shutdown would be in the best position to ride out the budgetary storm.
Contractors more closely tethered to the incremental operations of the federal government — with pay or work space — would be more directly affected. Contractors performing public safety and national security functions for the federal government may also be required to work without pay.
How does this all end, and what are the long-term impacts?
Congress has to pass an appropriations bill to end a shutdown. But that means Republicans and Democrats have to compromise. The blame game has started even before the shutdown does, as each side attempts to spin the negative effects as the other party’s fault, and their own refusal to bend as a principled fight.
How long this could go on is anybody’s guess. Shutdowns were once common: During Jimmy Carter’s presidency, shutdowns lasting a week or two occurred almost annually. When President Ronald Reagan was in office, near-annual shutdowns lasted just a day or so. But they have become rarer in recent decades. The last one, which began just before Christmas in 2018 and ended in late January 2019, set a record of 34 full days.
But the end of a shutdown may not mark a return to normalcy. Mr. Trump has threatened layoffs if the government shuts down, potentially making some staffing reductions permanent.
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