Law

Government shutdown trivia: 100 facts about the USA law that halts the nation!

Government shutdown- a term that you heard a lot in the last couple of weeks. But what does it actually mean?

Let’s find out some specifics about the government shutdown and its history in the USA.

In United States politics, a government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass sufficient appropriation bills
Or continuing resolutions to fund federal government operations and agenciesor when the President refuses to sign such bills
Or resolutions into law.
In such cases, the current interpretation of the Antideficiency Act requires that the federal government begin a “shutdown” of the affected activities involving the furlough of non-essential personnel and curtailment of agency activities and services
Essential employees are still required to work without pay until the government reopens
Then they may then receive back pay
These employees may include medical professionals in the Veterans Hospitals and TSA agents
Since 1976, when the current budget and appropriations process was enacted, there have been 22 gaps in budget funding, 10 of which led to federal employees being furloughed
Prior to 1990, funding gaps did not always lead to government shutdowns
But since 1990 the practice has been to shut down the government for all funding gaps
Shutdowns have also occurred at the state, territorial, and local levels of government
During the Ronald Reagan administration, there were a total of eight shutdowns lasting four days or less
Reasons were arguments over the fairness doctrine, a welfare package, a water package, a crime fighting package, foreign aid cuts, MX missile funding, needed spending bills and cuts in defense
A funding gap in 1990 during the George H. W. Bush administration caused a weekend shutdown
During the Bill Clinton administration, there were two full government shutdowns during 1995 and 1996 lasting five and 21 days respectively, based on disagreement on whether to cut government services
During the Barack Obama administration, a 16-day government shutdown occurred during October 2013 over Democrats and Republicans not coming to an agreement for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known colloquially as Obamacare
Three funding gaps have occurred during the Donald Trump administration
A three-day shutdown during January 2018
A funding gap that occurred overnight on February 9, 2018, which did not result in workers being furloughed
And an ongoing shutdown that began during December 2018, over proposed funding for a US– Mexico border wall
Government shutdowns have the effect of disrupting government services and increasing costs to the government due to lost labor
During the 2013 shutdown, Standard & Poor’s, the financial ratings agency, stated on October 16 that the shutdown had “to date taken $24 billion out of the economy”, and “shaved at least 0.6 percent off annualized fourth-quarter 2013 GDP growth”
Under the separation of powers created by the United States Constitution, the United States Congress has the sole power of the purse and responsibility for appropriating government funds
Like other bills, appropriations must be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate
Upon passage of a final version by both houses, they go to the President of the United States
If the President signs the bills, they become law
If instead the President vetoes them, they go back to Congress, where the veto can (in rare instances) be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses
Government shutdowns tend to occur when the President and one or both of the chambers of Congress are unable to resolve disagreements over budget allocations before the existing budget cycle ends
Initially, many federal agencies continued to operate during shutdowns, while minimizing all nonessential operations and obligations
In 1980 and 1981, however, Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued two opinions that more strictly interpreted the Antideficiency Act in the context of a funding gap, along with its exceptions
The opinions stated that, with some exceptions, the head of an agency could avoid violating the Act only by suspending the agency’s operations until the enactment of an appropriation
In the absence of appropriations, exceptions would be allowed only when there is some reasonable and articulable connection between the function to be performed and the safety of human life or the protection of property
However, even after the Civiletti opinions, not all funding gaps led to shutdowns
Of the nine funding gaps between 1980 and 1990, only four led to shutdowns
Shutdowns of the type experienced by the United States are nearly impossible in other forms of government
Under the parliamentary systems used in most European nations, the executive must maintain the approval of the legislature to remain in power (confidence and supply), and typically an election is triggered if a budget fails to pass
In other presidential systems, the executive branch typically has the authority to keep the government functioning even without an approved budget
While government shutdowns prior to the 1995–1996 shutdowns had very mild effects
A full federal government shutdown causes a large number of civilian federal employees to be furloughed
During a government shutdown, furloughed government employees are prohibited from even checking their e-mail from home
To enforce this prohibition, many agencies require employees to return their government- issued electronic devices for the duration of the shutdown
Economic data shows that despite the inconvenience arising from a protracted government shutdown, any GDP damage or falling job market confidence that results can be managed with relative ease
The loss of GDP from a shutdown is a bigger sum than it would cost to keep the government open
The complete effects of a shutdown are often clouded by missing data that cannot be collected while specific government offices are closed
Some effects of the shutdown are difficult to directly measure, and are thought to cause residual impacts in the months following a shutdown
The exact details of which government functions stop during a shutdown is determined by the Office of Management and Budget
“Emergency personnel” continue to be employed, including the active duty military, federal law enforcement agents, doctors and nurses working in federal hospitals, and air traffic controllers
For the Department of Defense, at least half of the civilian workforce, and the full-time, dual-status military technicians in the US National Guard and traditional Guardsmen are furloughed and not paid while the shutdown is in effect
Members of Congress continue to be paid, because their pay cannot be altered except by direct law
Mail delivery is not affected as it is self-funded and the funds are not appropriated by Congress
Programs that are funded by laws other than annual appropriations acts may also be affected by a funding gap
If program execution relies on activities that receive annually appropriated funding
Shutdowns in the past have also affected the Washington, D.C. municipal government, closing schools and suspending utilities such as garbage collection
The current shutdown began on December 22, 2018, and became the longest in US history on 12 January 2019
It surpassed the 21- day shutdown of 1995– 1996
The deadlock occurred when Trump sought to include $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall as part of the US government’s spending budget
He faced objections from Democrats over questions on the effectiveness of the proposed wall and the amount required to fund it
A senate vote on the proposed spending bill failed to secure a majority vote to pass it through to Congress
With Trump unable to secure support for the bill by January 2019
Approximately 420,000 federal workers were required to work without pay, while the remainder were furloughed
The extended shutdown raised considerable financial uncertainty for federal workers, prompting some of those who had to work to call in sick and either find other paid work, or to protest against the shutdown
Some concerns were raised over the consequences being brought forth, including sharp reductions in SNAP payments and delays towards completing tax refunds worth around $140 billion
Trump had two options, by 4 January 2019
End the deadlock – declare a national emergency to bypass Congressional approval for the new border wall
Prolong the shutdown to force Democrats to support funding for it
Both had issues if chosen
The first will invoke a national emergency that had the potential to face a legal battle from Democrats over the use of such executive powers
While prolonging the shutdown risked his administration facing mounting pressure and increasing the severity of the damage to the US economy
After the Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, Trump faced refusal to allow for funding on the border wall from Democrats Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, and Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader
A meeting between the three failed to end the deadlock
Trump refused to discuss ending the shutdown when both Pelosi and Schumer refused to provide the funding he requested
Both parties held televised addresses on January 8, in which Trump sought out support from the nation for a new border wall
Pelosi and Schumer issued a critical response against it and the extended shutdown
On January 10, Trump reasserted his belief that Mexico would pay for the new wall by stating it would be done through the new trade bill he had arranged in 2018 to replace NAFTA
Critics raised questions over the plausibility of his assertions if Congress approved the bill
As of January 21, 2019, the 2018–2019 United States government shutdown is in its 31th day
During the shutdown, 95% of federal staff for the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services were furloughed
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the food-stamp program, can be funded through a $3 billion contingency fund appropriated by Congress in 2018
If the shutdown continues through March 2019, those funds will be exhausted, leaving some 38 million Americans without food stamps and endangering food security
Continuation of the shutdown may also delay the issuance of some $140 billion in tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
As with the January 2018 shutdown, national parks were expected to be open as practical, though there would be no staff and buildings would be closed
The shutdown affected national parks unevenly, some still accessible with bare-bones staffing levels, some operating with money from states or charitable groups and others locked off
By January 1, 2019, the problems of neglected trash pileup, overflowing public toilets, and access to first aid were repeated across the Park system
At Yosemite National Park, on January 4, 2019, a death from a fall went unreported for a week
On January 11, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was unable to pay its workers who had not been paid since December 22
55% more of them called in sick than in January 2018
Since late December, court-appointed private lawyers who represent indigent defendants have worked without pay
During the shutdown, the federal government’s e-Verify system was halted
Official websites for agencies, have been rendered insecure or inaccessible through the shutdown, as the digital certificates expire and are not renewed
n January 2019, a CNN poll conducted by SSRS found that over 56% of the responding public oppose a wall while 39% favor it, and 45% view the situation at the border as a crisis
The numbers are reportedly extremely similar to the poll in December 2018 yet a later poll by ABC news showed that as the partial shutdown entered its fourth week support for building a wall was increasing
A poll done through YouGov between December 23– 25, 2018, reported that 51% of respondents thought Trump deserved “a lot” of the blame
44% thought congressional Democrats
39% thought congressional Republicans
Similar results were reported by a December 21– 25 survey done by Reuters/Ipsos
In which 47% of respondents said that the shutdown was the President’s fault
33% blamed Congressional Democrats
Over the course of the shutdown, Trump’s approval rating declined and his disapproval rating increased
A poll published on January 13, 2019, found that a larger number of Americans blamed Trump and congressional Republicans than congressional Democrats for the shutdown
A poll found that on January 15, 2019, a majority of Americans thought that President Trump was to blame for the shutdown