A government shutdown is a disruption that stops or interrupts the delivery of important services to Americans and impacts economic growth. It also puts strains on federal agencies and employees. As TIME has reported, federal agencies develop shutdown plans that lay out how many staff would be furloughed or required to work without pay and which activities they must halt during a funding lapse. Such plans require substantial staff time, potentially diverting resources from their core functions. And a shutdown disrupts revenue sources like visitor fees and gift store sales at national parks and limits government spending.
Every year, Congress passes, and the President signs, budget legislation that sets discretionary spending levels for the coming fiscal year. When those bills expire, agencies stop operating until new funding legislation is passed and signed into law. Essential operations, like air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents, continue to function, but other workers are furloughed. They are not paid during a shutdown and may lose interest in their work as the duration of the shutdown stretches on.
A shutdown can also disrupt the economy in sectors that depend on federal programs. For example, a Partnership for Public Service report found that the last shutdown (in December 2018 to January 2019) halted Small Business Administration loan programs that dispense about $200 million a day to small businesses; this hurt entrepreneurs and their employees. And food inspections by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration are delayed during a funding lapse.
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