![]() ![]() Shutdowns also carry a cost to the economy. ![]() ![]() OMB official estimates of the 2013 government shutdown found that $2.5 billion of pay and benefits was paid to furloughed employees for hours not worked during the shutdown, as well as roughly $10 million of penalty interest payments and lost fee collections. While many federal employees are forced to be idle during a shutdown, they have historically received and are now guaranteed back pay, negating much of those potential savings. In addition, many user fees and other charges are not collected during a shutdown, and federal contractors sometimes include premiums in their bids to account for uncertainty in being paid. For one, putting contingency plans in place has a real cost. While estimates vary widely, evidence suggests that shutdowns tend to cost, not save, money for a number of reasons. During the 2018-2019 shutdown, the Department of Agriculture had to rely on a special authority included in the previous CR to allow them to continue to issue SNAP benefits.ĭoes the government shutdown to save money? In 2013, certain activities were discontinued, including verifying benefits and providing new and replacement cards, but processing of benefit applications or address changes continued. However, staff who handled new enrollments and other services, such as changing addresses or handling requests for new Social Security cards, were initially furloughed in 1996. For instance, during the 1996 shutdowns and the 2013 shutdown, Social Security checks continued to go out. However, some services associated with mandatory programs may be diminished if there is a discretionary component to their funding. Thus, mandatory spending generally continues during a shutdown. Whereas discretionary spending must be appropriated every year, mandatory spending is authorized either for multi-year periods or permanently. How and why do mandatory programs continue during a shutdown? The fourth shutdown, starting in December 2018 and continuing into January 2019, centered on a dispute over border wall funding and was the longest-lasting shutdown at 35 days. The third was in 2013 when a House and Senate standoff over funding for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) resulted in a 16-day shutdown. The first two happened in the winter of 1995-1996 when President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress were unable to agree on spending levels and the government shut down twice, for a total of 26 days. There have now been four “true” shutdowns where operations were affected for more than one business day. Since 1981, 10 funding gaps of three days or fewer have occurred, mostly over a weekend when government operations were only minimally affected. (The hours-long lapse in appropriations in February 2018, though sometimes characterized as a shutdown, did not result in federal employee furloughs.) However, before 1980, the government did not shut down but rather continued normal operations through six funding gaps. Since Congress introduced the modern budget process in 1976, there have been 20 “funding gaps,” including the 2018-2019 shutdown and the one in January 2018, when funds were not appropriated for at least one day. How often does the US Federal Government shutdown? ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |