Today's News, Tomorrow's Lesson - October 2, 2013

Written by PBS
NewsHour
Extra

The federal government has officially shut down for the first time
in 17 years, meaning that 800,000 “non-essential” federal employees
have been sent home without pay.

The shutdown follows several days of drama in Congress, as
Republicans in the House of Representatives and Democrats in the Senate
tried to blame the impending shutdown on the other party.

“The House has done its work,” said House majority leader Republican
John Boehner of Ohio. “The Senate decided not to work yesterday. Well,
my goodness. If there is such an emergency, where are they?”

“Our negotiation is over with, and I have said that for two weeks,”
said Senate majority leader Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada. “They are
closing down the government. I don’t know what in the world is wrong
with them, why they’re fixated on this Obamacare.”

Government activities that are deemed “essential” will continue,
including military, law enforcement, intelligence activities, Border
Patrol, air traffic control and any job that protects federal life and
property, such as zookeepers at the National Zoo.

The issue preventing Congress from passing a budget is a
disagreement over funding for the Affordable Care Act, sometimes called
“Obamacare”. Democrats in the Senate and the president say they will
reject any budget that takes money away from the ACA, as the House
Republican budget does. The ACA went into effect on October 1,
regardless of Congress' budget delays, since the money had already been
allocated.

But what exactly is a government shutdown and how does it
happen?

A government shutdown happens when the government’s budget for
day-to-day operations expires, but the president and Congress have not
yet agreed on a way to continue funding.

If they can’t agree on a budget, they can pass a continuing
resolution, which is a temporary measure that continues funding the
government at normal levels. As Dylan Matthews of The Washington
Post put it, a continuing resolution says to the federal
government, “Keep on spending like you’ve been spending 'til we can
actually come to some agreement on how much you should be spending.”

This graphic from the National
Priorities Project breaks down the budget passage process:

via National Priorities Project

This time around, the continuing resolution that has been funding
the government since March 28 expired on September 30. When the
president and Congress could not agree on what to do, the government
shut down.

Has this happened before?

Yes, the government has shut down before, most recently in 1995 and
1996 when President Clinton and then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
could not reach an agreement on funding to social services.

What happens during a government shutdown?

When the government shuts down, all “non-essential” federal
employees have to stay home, national parks, museums and monuments
close, and anyone relying on government services, such as unemployment
and veteran’s benefits or government loans, could see their payments
delayed or cut.

But not everyone has to stay home. The president, Congress, FAA air
traffic controllers and employees, “deemed to perform emergency work
involving saving lives or protecting property, including military
service, law enforcement, or direct provision of medical care,” will
continue to work.

This video from PBS
NewsHour Extra provides more information about this important
topic.