When government funding expires without an approved full-year spending bill or a CR, programs and activities are shut down for weeks or months. The effects are far-reaching and costly, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating that even a short shutdown costs billions in lost economic activity that will never be recovered.
Americans expect their federal government to help keep the economy running smoothly, provide public benefits, conduct scientific research, and address national security challenges. Yet the partisan divides over funding have created a high risk of a government shutdown that would halt essential services, delaying passport processing and small business loans and preventing food safety inspections.
A government shutdown erupts when Congress fails to pass a full-year funding bill or a continuing resolution, and the President vetoes the measure. Congress may try to override the presidential veto, but it will take the support of two-thirds of both chambers.
Shutdowns have been the result of a range of disagreements, including a dispute over the Affordable Care Act. Regardless of the cause, a shutdown can lead to long delays in getting Social Security and Medicare checks, closed parks and museums, and slowed court cases.
Each year, all agencies reevaluate and post contingency plans that detail how they will respond to a shutdown. These plans include details such as whether staff will continue to work on user-fee derived revenue and how many workers will be kept on the job. In the past, most of these plans have centered on keeping vital functions open and accessible to the public.