By October 1, 2023 Congress must pass the 12 appropriations bills necessary to keep the government funded. This was actually predicted in July of this year when Representative Bob Good of Virginia, a member of the Congressional Freedom Caucus stated: “We should not fear a government shutdown. Most of the American people won’t even miss it if the government is shut down temporarily.”
As our government grapples with budget negotiations and policy disagreements, it's crucial to understand what a government shutdown entails and how it affects us.
What actually happens when the Federal Government Shuts down?
When the government shuts down, it means the federal agencies and programs they run are temporarily unable to function because Congress has not approved funding for them to operate.
While the actual impact varies by agency, the impact is not only felt across the federal government but by families and communities across the country. Some of the most drastic effects include:
Federal Employees are sent home without pay. While this varies from agency to agency, every area of government service is impacted. One sector of our government workforce that is required to report to work without pay is the active military. According to the American Legion, “The troops will continue to serve our nation but will not receive pay” until Congress passes funding measures. And, hundreds of thousands civilian employees who work in the Department of Defense will be furloughed.
Government Services Disrupted: Many programs and services are halted during shutdown. This typically includes national parks, immigration courts that focus on border security, tax return processing as well as passport applications that impact travel plans. While Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will not be impacted immediately, during the 1996 shutdown “more than 10,000 Medicare applicants were turned away each day.” And, although according to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, while “the most crucial benefits and services offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs will still be available”, the ability and resources available to process benefits will be impacted and restricted because of the number of furloughed employees who typically handle these services for our veterans.
Other Impacts: Each agency prepares a “contingency plan” for shutdowns that detail their operational plans when funding lapses. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issues guidance for these plans and posts them when they are updated for the public to track the impact on their ability to deliver services they deem essential.
How does this impact National Security and Public Safety?
As noted above, our troops are required to report for duty during a shutdown, but will not receive paychecks until a new budget deal is reached. Many civilian employees of the Department of Defense will be furloughed.
According to Department of Defense statements on the shutdown: “A shutdown would degrade and impact our operational planning and coordination, impact our more than 800,000 civilians, and severely diminish our ability to recruit and retain quality individuals for military service.”
And, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks was clear about the impact: “The Chinese army is not facing a shutdown nor is Russia shutting down its efforts to conquer Ukraine, and the U.S. Congress must take steps to avoid a government shutdown.”
Also, it has been estimated that 25% of active duty families depend on programs that will be halted, such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).
In addition to the severe impact on Military families, according to the Department of Homeland Security statement on their contingency plan for shutdown, over 19,000 Border Patrol Agents and 25,000 Field Operations Officers will be required to report to duty without pay and the agency’s Cybersecurity work will be “forced to suspend both physical and cybersecurity assessments for government and industry partners, including election officials as well as target rich, cyber poor sectors like water, K-12, and health care, which are prime targets for ransomware.”
And, unlike other branches of the US Military, the U.S. Coast Guard enlisted personnel (approximately 40,000 Active) will not be paid retroactively after a shutdown without a specific appropriation that Congress must pass.
The Department of Homeland Security also manages the Federal Emergency Management Agency which will be “forced to continue delaying support for community recovery” and the Transportation Services Association which screens over 2.5 million passengers a day. TSA Officers are also required to work without pay in a shutdown.
How common is a government shutdown?
A government shutdown occurs when Congress and the President fail to agree on a budget or a continuing resolution to fund federal agencies and programs. This leads to the temporary cessation of non-essential government services and the furloughing of federal employees.
There have been four shutdowns where operations were affected for more than one business day. In 1995-1996, the government shut down twice for a total of 26 days. In 2013, Congressional opposition to funding the Affordable Care Act resulted in a 16-day shutdown.
And, between December 2018 and January 2019 the government shutdown for 35 days when then President Trump and “hardliners” within the House Republican caucus opposed spending over funding for a proposed border wall that Republican leadership had not included in the budget.
What does Congress Need to Do to Avert Shutdown or ReOpen the Government?
To avert a shutdown, Congress must pass all 12 appropriations bills through both chambers and secure the President's signature before September 30th. This can be accomplished either by approving each bill individually or by bundling them together in an omnibus or minibus package.
They also have the option of passing a continuing resolution (CR). A CR is a temporary funding measure used when full appropriations bills are not passed. It typically maintains previous year's funding levels or follows a formula based on those levels.
CRs provide lawmakers with more time to complete appropriations work, and they can fund specific areas or the entire government for a set period, sometimes containing specific changes (anomalies) or policy restrictions (policy riders), while a "clean CR" avoids such modifications.
Between 2010 and 2022 Congress has passed 44 continuing resolutions.
What are the issues that are keeping Congress from passing the budget bills that need to keep the government open?
Currently, the biggest hurdle is the political dynamic between the Republican Speaker in the House, Kevin McCarthy, and a small group of conservative Republicans who make up the Freedom Caucus.
By a vote of 76-22 the Senate has already approved a continuing resolution that would extend spending until November 17, 2023 and would authorize approximately $6 billion for domestic disaster relief and another $6 billion to aid Ukraine against Russia.
Continuing Resolutions must be passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the President by September 30 to avoid the shutdown. Unfortunately, the Freedom Caucus has “vowed to block the House Republicans’ short term funding bill.”
This is the same group of conservatives that opposed McCarthy’s bid for Speaker at the beginning of this session of Congress and has continued to oppose many of the measures he has pushed. Complicating the matter for a Republican Speaker who is working to find acceptable compromise is the fact that the members of the Freedom Caucus, led by Congressman Matt Gaetz have stated that if Speaker McCarthy tries to go around them and find a majority of votes with Republicans not in the Freedom Caucus and Democrats to pass the budget that he will immediately file motions to remove McCarthy as Speaker of the House, which would put Congress into more chaos.
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