- As of Oct. 29, the United States is in the middle of the second-longest government shutdown in its history.
- The current shutdown involves several factors unlike previous ones.
- The impacts are widespread but include furloughed federal workers and national park limitations.
Over the last four weeks, 750,000 federal workers across the nation have received notices barring them from work and pay, federal museums and national landmarks have closed their doors to the public and thousands of flights have been delayed. A government shutdown that began at midnight on Oct. 1 is to blame. With Democrats and Republicans in a political deadlock, Congress failed to pass legislation funding a number of government services, from decreasing food assistance for low-income families to delayed passport applications.
Each year, Congress passes appropriation bills to allocate funding for specific federal agencies and programs ahead of the fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1. If Congress does not pass these bills before that date, nonessential federal agencies suspend operations until appropriations are passed.
During a shutdown, all federal employees deemed nonessential — including national park staff, researchers and administrative workers — are furloughed, or temporarily placed on unpaid leave. Federal employees who provide essential services like the Transportation Security Administration continue working, but receive pay only when the shutdown ends. In areas with high costs of living like the Bay Area, where there are nearly 45,000 federal workers, the shutdown has taken a toll on employees’ ability to pay bills, mortgages and basic necessities.
“It’s a very difficult time to be a federal employee,” said John McMeel, a furloughed Oakland Internal Revenue Service employee, in a San Francisco Chronicle interview. “The uncertainty and just the mismash of information is just all over the place. That doesn’t make any sense.”
In the past five decades, the United States has experienced 21 government shutdowns, most of which lasted only a few days. In 2018, the longest shutdown to date extended for 35 days over a funding dispute to build a wall at the southern border. As of Oct. 29, the current shutdown is the second longest in U.S. history.
The current shutdown emerged from a partisan standoff over federal healthcare spending priorities. A major contention surrounded Affordable Care Act tax credits, which subsidize health insurance for low- and middle-income Americans and are set to expire by the end of the year unless Congress renews funding. While Democrats pushed to extend the credits, Republicans have opposed all their proposals so far.
During the shutdown, Congress attempted multiple times to pass a continuing resolution — a temporary spending bill — but failed. The Senate requires 60 votes to approve a bill, and Republicans currently hold a majority in the Senate with 53 seats. Democrats have stated that they won’t support any resolution that does not include their proposals for healthcare provisions like ACA tax credits. Oct. 20 marked the 11th time that Democrats have blocked a GOP-led continuing resolution since the shutdown began.
“Congress and the president must agree on how to fund the government, and when partisan divisions become too rigid, that process breaks down,” said James Nguyen, professor of political science and Asian American studies at De Anza College.
In an effort to pressure Democrats to accept congressional funding proposals, the Trump Administration has issued reduction-in-force notices, or decisions to cut employee positions, during the shutdown. On Oct. 10, the administration laid off more than 4,000 federal employees across agencies like the Treasury and Health and Human Services. The administration also announced suspensions of infrastructure projects in Democrat-led states, including freezing $10 billion allocated for transportation programs in New York.
“In the long run, there’s going to be questions about whether agencies with reduced staff are able to do their job properly,” said Jeremy Abrams, professor of American politics at San José State University. “For example, if there are enough inspectors to manage all of the food coming into the country.”
Although the effects of most government shutdowns are usually short-lived, they can have a significant impact on individuals and the economy. Reduced staffing often disrupts public services and increases travel delays — during the monthlong shutdown from 2018 to 2019, airlines faced major issue when. around 10% of airport staff chose not to go to work without pay. The growing pressure from transportation disruptions pushed Congress to speed up negotiations, and the government reopened soon after to avoid mass flight cancellations.
“As the shutdown continues, we are going to see a greater impact as these delays snowball into economic issues that put pressure on both the Democrats and Republicans,” said Tim Kelly, professor of history and political science at West Valley College.
Beyond the current shutdown, a broader concern is the normalization of government shutdowns as a political tactic. Both parties have used shutdowns as an ultimatum for their opposition to agree to certain legislation, but as shutdowns become more common, their wide-ranging consequences may become commonplace — only exacerbating the issue.
“Democracies depend not only on laws but on habits of cooperation and restraint—once those erode, they’re difficult to rebuild,” Nguyen said.
