Why is the Government Shutting Down:

Are you wondering “How did we get here again?

At 12:01amET on October 1st the Government effectively “shut down”. A government shutdown happens when Congress and the President fail to agree on and pass new spending bills to fund government operations by the funding deadline. As a result, federal agencies that rely on that funding must close down non-essential services until a deal is reached.

There have been since the 1977 fiscal year 20 funding gaps, some for as short as a day. This is the 21st.

What is the disagreement over this time?

The disagreement is primarily over healthcare policy - a bill that impacts 11.8 million people who are on track to lose health insurance coverage over the next ten years. The Republicans are in the majority in both chambers of Congress. A bill to keep the Government operating temporarily has already passed the House, but in the Senate - or upper chamber - the majority is short of the 60 votes they need to pass a spending bill.

During a government shutdown, even though missions deemed essential to national security keep running, servicemembers working on them will not get paid unless Congress passes emergency legislation to allow paychecks to continue. The last shutdown began in December 2018, during President Trump’s first term, and was the longest shutdown in history -- 35 days.  

In 2013, lawmakers passed a bill guaranteeing military pay during a 16-day shutdown. In 2019, the military, except the Coast Guard, were paid because Congress passed a Pentagon spending bill. Coast Guard funding falls under the Department of Homeland Security so service-members were not paid until the shutdown ended. By the time the government reopened in January 2019, about $3 billion in U.S. economic activity evaporated, never to be recovered, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

How will we be impacted:

The most important, and unfortunate, thing military families need to know is that as of right now service members will work but will not get paid on time unless Congress passes a budget, “stop-gap” temporary funding, or a bill specifically guaranteeing military pay.

If there is a shutdown, roughly 2 million service members will need to report to work without pay as well as 4 million federal employees who will also go without a paycheck (think workers in federal prisons, courts etc). National parks are scheduled to close and the Smithsonian museums also typically close within a few days. Federal contractors, including hourly workers such as janitors and security guards, are not required to work and are also not guaranteed backpay.

As of right now, the first full paycheck missed for members of the military is Oct. 15, for federal employees will be Oct. 24. Servicemembers and federal employees will get back pay once the shutdown is over.

What will not be impacted:

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill would continue to get paid their $174,000 annual salaries.

The U.S. Postal Service, which uses its own revenue stream, would not be affected by a lapse in government funding.

Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid continue to be distributed, though there can be slow downs.

What you can do:

We are a community with so many different experiences - and we want our policy makers to hear from all of us right now. Here’s what you can do today: send a letter to your members of Congress and tell them how our communities are impacted. Use the tool on the right to help you!