As I sat down to read the news to publish my first article, I realized how much I actually don’t know, and how much I want to learn. Like so many of us, I think this is a common thread. The first headline on Google News reads “Congress votes to end record shutdown, sending DHS funding to Trump’s desk”. I realized as I read the article, I didn’t know the difference between congress, the House of Representatives, and many other things involving the process of a government shutdown. All I knew was that in my days as an Intelligence Analyst, it meant the possibility of not getting my paycheck. I never questioned what it actually meant, how a government shutdown was actually voted on, the parties involved and the like.
So here is what happens with a government shutdown, what a government shutdown is, and who’s involved.
According to USA Facts, a government shutdown happens when Congress fails to pass, or the President refuses to sign a spending bill to fund the federal government’s operations. I think this fact is widely known throughout the United States. What isn’t widely known is why it’s so hard sometimes to fund the government and pass a spending bill. This is where knowledge of how the federal government operates comes into play.
It all starts with how Congress works
As a review, Article I of the United States Constitution established the legislative branch known as the Congress (visit the capitol). Congress is a bicameral. This means that it is a government system that operates in two equal chambers, assemblies, or houses. Our congress that oversees the laws and the executive branch in the United States is divided into two equal institutions: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House and the Senate have different roles and responsibilities, but they work together to pass laws. No bill can become law without passing both houses. The House of Representatives is made up of 435 members, and each member represents a state of the United States. Some states have more representatives because the number of representatives is based on the population of the state, and each member serves 2 years. The Senate is made up of 100 members, and each state is represented by 2 members that serve for 6 years. All of these members must negotiate on spending bills called appropriation bills.
To fund the federal government, Congress needs to pass 12 annual appropriations bills that fund discretionary spending. An appropriation bill, also known as a spending bill, is proposed legislation that authorizes federal agencies to spend money from the U.S. Treasury. It is important to note that these bills only cover discretionary spending, and do not include required spending. The 12 appropriation bills include Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Defense; Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; Legislative Branch; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. All 12 of the bills need to be passed by October 1st, which is the beginning of the government’s fiscal year. A common misconception is that if these bills are not passed by October 1st, a shutdown is automatic. This is not the case, as congress has work arounds called Continuing Resolutions (CR) that they frequently use, which involves passing short term spending bills to avoid a complete government shutdown.
When a Shutdown Happens
A shutdown only occurs if all temporary funding (CR’s) and permanent funding authority lapses, meaning that Congress has failed to pass the full appropriations bills or a Continuing Resolution.
In practice, the US government has rarely passed all 12 appropriation bills by October 1st, however government shutdowns are relatively rare because continuing resolutions are typically passed and bridge the gap. A government shutdown happens when there is a breakdown in negotiations in Congress.
Causes of Breakdown in Negotiations
Breakdowns in negotiations for appropriation bills or continuing resolutions stem from multiple causes including ideological and policy disputes, political and partisan dynamics, and structural and procedural issues. This breakdown is what causes the government to shutdown, and that shutdown is a symptom of deeper political dysfunction.
Ideological and policy disputes can include issues such as disagreements over spending level; one side wants cuts, the other wants increases. Disagreements on policy “riders” attached to spending bills (for example, restrictions on abortion funding, immigration enforcement, environmental regulations which typically Democrats and Republicans have opposing viewpoints on) that have nothing to do with the budget itself but become dealbreakers, and fundamental disagreements about the size and role of government.
Political and partisan dynamics also contribute to disagreements and a breakdown in negotiations. A divided government, for example one party controls the House, another the Senate, or the White House, makes compromise harder. Members of Congress also face pressure from their other members on their political “side” not to compromise, making deal-making politically risky. Hardline factions within a party (like the House Freedom Caucus on the right) can block leadership from cutting deals, since bills need a majority to pass. Some politicians even calculate that a shutdown benefits them politically by demonstrating they “stood firm” on certain subjects and priorities on their side.
Three separate institutions within the government must agree on a spending bill for it to become law; it has to pass the House, the Senate, and be signed by the president, which can lead to structural and procedural issues with majority votes. Coming full circle, in addition to the issues above, the House requires 218 or more votes to pass a bill, and the Senate requires 60 votes. Additionally, individual senators have procedural tools that can slow or block legislation. Often, the House and the Senate pass different versions of a spending bill, they then have to negotiate a compromise in conference, and both chambers must again vote on the final version leaving multiple opportunities for the process to collapse, repeating the cycle.
What You Can Do
So, knowing what we know now about how government shutdowns work, what can we do as a people? It’s important to stay in the know of what bills Congress is currently voting on, and to do this you can monitor the official house floor schedules and Senate Legislative Proceedings. The best primary source is Congress.gov, which lists daily, weekly, and upcoming legislation. Other reliable tools include the House Majority Leader’s site and trackers like GovTrack.us. From the Senate Legislative Proceedings site, the Senate Calendar is a PDF that will list the bills that are eligible for Senate floor consideration. If there is a current issue that matters to you as an individual, contact your House of Representative and tell them. Keep the pressure on your representatives and senators on important issues that you care about by contacting them. You can find your representative here Homepage | house.gov and your Senator at https://www.senate.gov/. It is the job of who you voted for and who represents you in Congress to listen to the people they represent. The more people who come together on certain issues the more pressure it puts on the members of congress to listen, and pass bills congruent with what the people want. It is important to use your voice, as the bills being voted on are genuinely fluid in nature, even senators themselves often don’t know exactly what’s coming until close to the time.
I spent years analyzing information for the government without ever fully understanding how it funded itself. Now I do, and so do you.
