A new shutdown hits Washington
The US government has once again shut down when members of Congress in the House and Senate failed to reach an agreement on a new spending plan before 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, October 1. Most federal services are suspended without an approved budget, leaving millions of Americans confused.
Reminding: The last shutdown
The previous shutdown before the current one was on December 22, 2018, it was extended to January 25, 2019. The government shutdown lasted for 35 days and was the longest in more than 40 years.
That shutdown was a partial one, meaning some agencies stayed open while others closed. Still, it came at a big cost: the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the country lost around $3 billion in GDP because of the pause.
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What happened in 2018–2019
The 2018 shutdown impacted about 800,000 federal workers. About 300,000 of them were furloughed — meaning they stayed home and did not get paid. The remaining half had to keep working, but did not get paid until the shutdown ended.
The good news for those employees was that when the government reopened, they did finally get all their back pay. But for more than a month, thousands of families had to stretch savings, skip bills, or take temporary jobs just to get by.
A history of shutdowns
Government shutdowns have happened in the past. The idea started in the early 1980s when the agencies were told that they would be required to shut down regular business if Congress failed to provide timely provision of funds. Six shutdowns have been experienced since 1990, although most were short-lived.
What makes them harder to sidestep these days is the deep political polarisation in Washington. Budget fights happen more frequently these days, and lawmakers are less willing to bargain. That extends shutdowns and affects more people.
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Why they happen
A shutdown takes place when Congress doesn’t approve the 12 individual bills that give funding to the government each year. Without them, money legally can’t be sent toward most federal programs.
On occasion, the fight is about big things like border security, healthcare, or the price tag of the military. Other instances are simply because lawmakers can’t get together on the overall budget size. Today, with Speaker Mike Johnson leading one of the narrowest House majorities in history, there simply weren’t enough votes to push a deal through on schedule.
Partial vs. full shutdowns
- It’s worth knowing the difference.
- Partial shutdown: Some agencies are open because they’ve already had their budgets approved, but others are closed. That is what occurred in 2018.
- Full shutdown: None of the funding bills for the year have been passed, so virtually all the agencies are affected. That is what is happening now.
- A full shutdown’s impact has a wider reach, from slowed-down passport processing to national parks closing and even fewer food safety inspections.
Who feels it the most
Federal workers are the hardest hit. Millions of them will be required to stay home and go unpaid, and others will have to work but won’t get their checks until the standoff ends.
Other than employees, the impact ripples onto the general public. Small businesses that depend on government contracts, families who wait for loans from federal programmes, and travellers who need documents like visas or passports will feel the effects of the delays.
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You need to see this to know the extent of these shutdowns
