As of October 6, Congress has failed to pass a new continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government—which has been passed in the House—in the Senate, most recently failing at a 54-44 vote. But what does this really mean for Americans?
American fiscal policy is the use of government spending and taxation to influence the economy, manage economic growth, and address issues like unemployment and inflation. It is supposed to last throughout the fiscal year and be renewed or revised by October 1 to last to September 30 of the next year. Under Trump’s first presidency the US had three shutdowns, while under his current administration America had a scare in March and now has tipped into the first government shutdown in almost seven years.
If the government shuts down there are many departments, programs, and people affected. Some of the first few areas are government agencies, as anything seen as non-essential would close and those employees would be furloughed or in some cases, fired. Federally operated places like national parks or museums would either be partially accessible, with bathrooms, campgrounds, and visitor centers closed or fully closed as a whole. Loan applications and processing might also become delayed or halted entirely. Federal courts could be disrupted or delayed by the shutdown.
Many are worried about what could go wrong during a shutdown, as the longest government shutdown in the US lasted 35 days in 2019, under Trump’s first presidency. Then, 800,000 federal employees were impacted, many furloughed or worked without pay. Many national parks closed, flights delayed, and it cost the US economy $11 billion, with $3 billion permanently lost.
While we are unsure of what will happen, Trump has made many statements about the issues, such as stating he would fire all non-essential federal employees. “…We’d be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected, and they’re Democrats,” Trump stated. This means that an estimated 750,000 federal employees would be without work and pay. While it is unaware of what is to come, America can hope that the shutdown does not last long and that Congress can come to an agreement to fund the government in the near future.
