In the past, there have been four “true” government shutdowns where operations were disrupted for more than one business day. The first happened in the winter of 1995-1996, when President Clinton and Congress were unable to agree on spending levels and the government shut down for 26 days. The next came in 2013, when the House and Senate standoff over Obamacare resulted in a 16-day shutdown. The third shutdown occurred in December 2018 and January 2019 – technically only a partial shutdown, as five of the 12 appropriations bills had been enacted before the dispute over border wall funding started – and lasted 35 days.
Non-essential federal employees are furloughed, and the services they provide will be affected. For example, during the last shutdown, national parks remained open but with few or no staff to maintain them. This led to littering and vandalism. Also, local businesses that depend on the tourism associated with those parks will experience reduced revenue.
Those deemed essential continue to work without pay. This includes border protection, law enforcement, in-hospital medical care and air traffic control. However, Social Security cheques and Medicare cards will not be issued, and there may be longer call wait times for service centres.
The good news is that most experts believe a short shutdown won’t significantly affect the economy, but as time goes by it will cause more and more disruptions. What’s more, the longer this goes on, the less likely it is that all affected workers will receive back pay when the shutdown ends.