A government shutdown is when Congress fails to pass a funding bill to keep the lights on. The effects can be incredibly wide-ranging and last for an extended period of time. This can affect many people, including federal employees, who are either furloughed or required to work without pay and the public, whose services like visa processing, National Park service and food safety inspections would cease.
Some federal employees are considered “excepted” because their activities are funded through another source or are essential to the President’s constitutional duties, such as national security operations. This includes military personnel and some staff at presidentially appointed or Senate confirmed positions, such as Secretaries of
However, most of these functions can be temporarily shifted to private companies and volunteers, which means they will reopen once a funding bill passes. And there are certain government agencies that cannot stop operating, such as the FBI and the Coast Guard. And a long-lasting shutdown can eat into the economy, reducing GDP (gross domestic product) for every week it persists. In the end, shutdowns erode Americans’ confidence in their elected leaders and create a negative image of our nation in international markets both to our allies and adversaries.
