US Government Shutdown

At midnight on Saturday, January 20, 2018 in the Eastern Time Zone – comprising 17 US states including New York and Connecticut – the Federal Government of the United States shut down. The shutdown lasted for almost three days, ending on the evening of Monday, January 22. On February 9, the government shut down again, this time lasting less than a day: five-and-a-half hours.

In the US, government-wide shutdowns generally occur when the President closes non-essential discretionary federal programs; in other words, programs funded by the portion of the US government’s federal budget that Congress raises and sets aside yearly for that purpose. These programs are forced to close when Congress is unsuccessful in allotting sufficient funds by September 30 of the previous year for the current fiscal year, and enacts a continuing funding resolution. If Congress still fails to agree on a solution, the budget process breaks down completely and the US federal government is then shut down.

The first government shutdown occurred on January 20 when the Senate was unsuccessful in passing the budget for the fiscal year 2018. It subsequently failed to pass a continuing resolution to extend spending until the budget could be passed. The shutdown revealed rifts in the Senate over President Donald Trump’s proposed immigration plan, which would have ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in February if a permanent resolution was not determined. The program protects immigrants illegally brought into the US as children, and it is supported by the majority of Democrats. Members of the Republican party – helmed by President Trump – were however mostly against the program, but failed to secure the 60 votes needed to end it. The conflict remained unresolved and the federal government, unable to reach a consensus, shut down for three days.

It affected most federal departments – those funded by the discretionary budget, excluding those that provide essential services such as defense, national safety and security. The major departments affected are the commerce, labour, interior, education and energy departments, as well as the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, National Institute of Health and the Internal Revenue Service. NASA and Smithsonian were also impacted. This also impacted the tourism industry, with some of the major departments closed also doubling as tourist hotspots, for example, the Smithsonian museums.

On January 22, Republicans and Democrats vowed to cooperate on DACA legislation. Congress passed a continuing resolution that ended the shutdown and expired at midnight on February 9, as there was a lot o of pressure on the government to end the shutdown, but this lacked what was needed, so they subsequently entered another shutdown period, this time lasting five-and-a-half hours.

One thing is clear: two successive federal government shutdowns so early on do not bode well for the smooth running of the US government in the year to come. 2018 will be challenging, not just for the US government, but for the people whose interests it represents, namely the general American Population.

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