As the federal budget deadline approaches, Congress and the President remain at an impasse on a funding deal. If they do not pass a new fiscal year plan or a short-term stop gap appropriations bill before September 30, most government departments and agencies are required by law to shut down because they lack annual funding unless designated as essential. Exceptions include border protection, in-hospital medical care, power grid maintenance and air traffic control. Mandatory spending that does not require annual appropriations (such as Social Security and Medicare) continues. Congress and the judicial branch, under a decades-old legal ruling, are also able to carry out their constitutional responsibilities during a shutdown, although some of their staff members may be furloughed.
Each department and agency develops its own shutdown plans following guidance from the Office of Management and Budget. In the past, such plans have highlighted that certain activities continue because they relate to “the safety of human life or the protection of property.” Other activities may be delayed or ceased. For example, during the last government shutdown, the FDA stopped food inspections. This would likely re-start when funding resumes, but a few weeks of missed inspections can delay food safety.
Shutdowns are expensive for the federal government and harm the economy. Instead of engaging in this costly brinksmanship, leaders should enact bipartisan policies to put the United States on a sound fiscal path. Local governments will bear the brunt of a prolonged shutdown as federal program funding dries up, requiring them to seek supplemental state and local funds to continue essential services.