A government shutdown happens when Congress is unable to pass the bills that fund federal agencies and programs like the National Institutes of Health or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Without an appropriations bill, non-essential employees are sent home without pay, and essential services – including border security, in-hospital medical care, air traffic control, law enforcement, food inspections and power grid maintenance – stop or are delayed. In previous shutdowns, certain services that are funded through permanent user fees or advance appropriations (like Social Security and Medicare) have been able to continue.
There have been four “true” government shutdowns since the winter of 1995-1996, with the most recent shutdown starting in December 2018. The first was brought about by a House-Senate standoff over funding for the Affordable Care Act. The last shutdown lasted 35 days, the longest in US history.
If the current shutdown drags on, it will cause serious economic harm to millions of Americans. This is particularly true for children, who depend on federal programs for education, health care, nutrition, child care and financial security. The disruption in these programs threatens their families’ well-being and jeopardizes the long-term progress they are making.
In addition, this partisan confrontation is exacerbating the already dire state of our nation’s infrastructure – roads, energy and water systems, and parks – and it could further undermine public confidence in our country’s government. Congress and the President should put politics aside and come together to pass a bipartisan funding bill.