A lot of people are confused at what exactly the government shutting down means. The government shutting down is not a state of emergency in our government but it also is not a good thing. A government shutdown has happened multiple times in the past but is still a very rare thing. Here is what a government shutdown actually means.
Congress needed to pass a budgeting decision before last Friday to fund the government. But the democrats and the republicans couldn’t come to agreement on the bill. The primary cause of this debate on funds is whether to include immigration plans, like a fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and whether to pass a short-term fix or come to a final agreement on the problem. Democrats had been pushing for a resolution for recipients of DACA and wanted to discuss it before the Friday deadline and the two parties were unable to reach an agreement.
So what exactly happens during a government shutdown?
A government shutdown is when Congress doesn’t approve or agree on a federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year. So because of this, budgeting stops and to pay for essential funds the government needs to stay operating, they cut some of the non essential branches. This happens until the lawmakers can agree on a budget. Non essential employees will be sent home on a leave (furloughed) and docked pay accordingly until the government is back up and running. This includes employees of passport offices, state and national parks, museums, the IRS and many more.
The military for example is an essential part of our country so they will still go on doing their jobs. Border control and even our troops will still be executing their work, they might be payed less or maybe some not at all but they will still continue to work.
Congress reached a compromise to reopen the government on Monday, Jan. 22nd, ending the shutdown officially. This has happened before, it just happened and it will certainly happen again.