In U.S. politics, a government
shutdown is a situation in which the government stops providing all but
"essential" services. Typically, services that continue despite a
shutdown include police, fire fighting, the National Weather Service and its
parent agencies, the postal service, armed forces, utilities, air traffic
management, and corrections (the penal system).
A shutdown can happen when a legislative body
(including the legislative power of veto by the executive) cannot agree on a budget
financing its government programs for a pending fiscal year. In the absence of
appropriated funds, the government discontinues providing non-essential
services at the beginning of the affected fiscal year. Government employees who
provide essential services, often referred to as "essential
employees," are required to continue working.
Specifically, in the case of the United States
federal government, the Ant deficiency Act, together with legal opinions,
particularly one written by Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti in 1981, define
what is and is not allowed in the absence of an appropriation.
A federal government shutdown causes a large
number of civilian federal employees to be furloughed. Military personnel are
not furloughed, but may not be paid as scheduled.
The exact details of which government functions
would stop during a shutdown is determined by the Office of Management and
Budget. However, some specific aspects have applied to all shutdowns in the
past. Among these is the closure of national parks and passport offices."Emergency
personnel" continue to be employed, including the military, border agents,
doctors and nurses working in federal hospitals, and air traffic controllers.
Members of Congress continue to be paid, because their pay cannot be altered
except by direct law. Mail delivery is not affected as it is self-funded.
Shutdowns in the past have also affected the Washington,
D.C. municipal government, putting a stop to utilities such as garbage collection;
this can include schools, though shutdowns evidently occur during the weekend.
"I've made it clear now for months and month
and months," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Thursday. "We
have no interest in seeing a government shutdown. But we've got to address the
spending problems that we have in this town. And so there will be options
available to us. There's not going to be any speculation about what we're going
to do or not do until the Senate passes their bill."
If Congress fails to send President Obama a bill
before Tuesday, the outcome would impact the economy, though not
catastrophically. There have been brief gaps in government funding before, as
well as two government shutdowns in 1995-1996 that stemmed from partisan budget
battles similar to today's problems. The government shut down for five days in
November 1995 when President Clinton and the GOP-led Congress were at odds over
government spending, and it shut down again in December for 21 days. According
to government estimates, those shutdowns cost taxpayers $1.4 billion.
If Democrats and Republicans don't reach a
spending deal by midnight Monday, a partial government shutdown will take
effect.
The 2013 fiscal year ends at midnight Monday.
Many federal programs and activities will stop beginning Tuesday and won't
restart until a new deal is in place.
X-Class Realtors Sale and Area of Expertise
Call us
today : Freephone:301-358-3399
or visit www.x-classrealtors.com
