A government shutdown is a pause in federal budgeting that prevents most agency operations until Congress and the President reach an agreement. During the most recent shutdown, employees were sent home without pay (furloughed) and some services were interrupted.
Historically, a government shutdown only occurs when Congress fails to pass full funding (appropriations) legislation for a specific department or agency or when a budget deal has expired and no Continuing Resolution (CR) is in place. The five previous “true” shutdowns spanned a combined 26 days and centered around disagreements on various issues including the Affordable Care Act, defense, immigration, and climate change.
If a CR or full funding isn’t passed by the end of the fiscal year, agencies must develop contingency plans that decide what to prioritize for their operations during a shutdown. These lapse plans are comprised of thousands of judgment calls – from whether to keep air traffic controllers working, to how many National Park Service rangers will be kept on the job. For some agencies, these decisions can make a big difference: During the most recent shutdown, the Food and Drug Administration stopped routine inspections, raising public health risks; the National Park Service stopped trash collection and road repairs, creating unsafe conditions; and NIH was forced to delay new clinical trials, harming cancer patients who need to enroll quickly for access to cutting-edge treatments.
In past shutdowns, activities that are independently funded outside of the yearly appropriations process have remained operational, including Social Security payments and passport processing. In addition, activities that are mandated by law or financed by permanent user fees have continued as well, such as border protection, in-hospital medical care, and power grid maintenance.