What the US federal government shutdown means

The US federal government shutdown at midnight after Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress failed to resolve a budget stand-off.

According to a report on the government shutdown that appeared on Forbes, the US federal government’s fiscal year begins on October 1. To stay open, Congress must either pass 12 appropriations bills or approve a short-term continuing resolution to keep funding flat while negotiations continue. Each of these 12 appropriations bills funds a slice of the government for a full fiscal year.

However, in this year’s deliberations, Republican and Democratic lawmakers failed to agree on numerous issues which meant that the criteria for staying open was not met.

Forbes reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson was blaming Democrats for holding out. He claimed that they were insisting on extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits that help millions of Americans pay for health insurance.

On the other end, reported Forbes, Democrats led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries claimed that Republicans were refusing to protect the affordable coverage. This stalemate then led to the impasse that eventually triggered the shutdown.

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Following this shutdown, Forbes quoted the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) as estimating that roughly 750,000 federal employees would be furloughed in the first days, at a daily payroll cost of about $400 million. “The longer the shutdown lasts, the broader the fallout,” reported Forbes.

In the public service, applications for small business loans, routine food and drug inspections, and some passport and visa processing effectively went into suspension.

Any national parks or museums that rely on federal funding were shutdown while garbage pickup, campground, and bathroom maintenance services were suspended.

Nonetheless, a related report by the CNN stated that critical services would remain open during the shutdown.

“Typically functions that are critical to protect lives and property are deemed essential and remain open. For example, while the Department of Education said it will furlough most of its staffers in a shutdown, most Department of Homeland Security personnel will continue working,” the CNN reported.

According to CBS News, the five federal government departments with the most furloughed staff include:

• Department of Defense (civilian staff): 334,904 furloughed, 406,573 retained
• Department of Health: 32,460 furloughed, 47,257 retained
• Department of Commerce: 34,711 furloughed, 8,273 retained
• Department of State: 16,651 furloughed, 10,344 retained
• Nasa: 15,094 furloughed, 3,124 retained