A government shutdown happens when Congress and the President can’t agree on budget legislation for a fiscal year. The Antideficiency Act requires departments and agencies that lack appropriations to cease operations, with only “excepted activities” related to the safety of human life or protection of property permitted to continue. Each agency develops its own shutdown plan based on guidance from the Office of Management and Budget.
During a shutdown, many federal employees are instructed to stay home and don’t receive their paychecks, though they’ll be paid once the funding lapse ends. Essential government services like law enforcement, air traffic control and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) remain open but may experience delays. Programs like Social Security and Medicare payments continue, but benefit verification and card issuance are delayed. Services independent of annual appropriations bills, such as the Postal Service and veterans’ benefits, also continue but may experience interruptions.
The shutdown has already negatively impacted low-income families’ wages, health, housing, and mobility. And the longer it lasts, the more harm it will do.
A lengthy shutdown would have far-reaching consequences for the country’s infrastructure, including roads, energy and water systems, airports, national parks and other public spaces. Local governments also rely on federal grants for programs such as homeless shelters and food assistance, and those funds could dry up without emergency approval from the White House.
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