The government has been shut down since December 22, 2018, as President Trump and the Democrats remain in a standstill about the $5 billion budget Trump demands for the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. The Democrats refuse to agree to this money and Trump is still unwilling to declare a national emergency, so nothing can move forward. Here are some of the basic questions you may have about the situation.
What is a government shutdown?
The fiscal year began on October 1st, and most of the government has been in funding since then. However, 7 out of 12 bills were not enacted by the deadline, December 21st. Since some agencies could not receive funding, they were partially shut down. As a result, many federal agents have been unpaid for the past several weeks. Around 380,000 workers have been furloughed and ordered not to work. 420,000 workers must continue their work as usual, but are unpaid.
Will federal employees be paid later?
The employees who remain on the job are guaranteed to be paid later, and furloughed employees have also been paid later in the past. When exactly this will occur is still up in the air. They may take on outside employment, but must obey government ethics rules regarding other income and conflicts of interest.
How are the President and Congress affected?
The President is ensured a constant salary throughout his or her time in office, and is thus not subject to any changes due to the shutdown. Congress also remains unaffected because its appropriation bill was one of the five passed before December 21. However, many lawmakers are either refusing or donating their paychecks as a stand in solidarity with all the federal workers going unpaid.
How else are we affected?
Some federal agencies, like the Postal Service and Social Security, have not been impacted by the shutdown, but there are many others that have suffered detrimental effects. For instance, though Trump intended to keep national parks open for visitors, they have been severely understaffed. Visitors have taken advantage of this freedom and vandalized and trashed the parks.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has also been affected. TSA officers have been deemed essential employees and must work without pay. However, the amount of employees skipping work has made the lines for TSA checkpoints much longer than usual, and travellers have been advised to arrive at the airport three hours before their domestic flights. Some workers have even threatened to quit because they are not getting paid.
Federal prison workers are also working without pay, but the shortage of workers showing up has forced other employees to work double shifts. Justice Department employees, on the other hand, are not working, and many civil cases have been put on hold.
The Food and Drug Administration has suspended inspections of domestic food-processing facilities, which could lead to many issues, especially in certain high-risk facilities. Scientific research in agencies such as the Agriculture Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has also been halted.
How is the economy affected?
It is estimated that the shutdown will subtract 0.1 percentage point from growth for every week that the shutdown continues. Though this might seem small, the shutdown has delayed housing and trade deficit reports, and could eventually delay reports on inflation, gross domestic product and business investment as well.