NEW DELHI: The United States government is staring at an impending shutdown this weekend amid a deadlock among Republicans over deep spending cuts.
Even as lawmakers are scrambling to avert the shutdown, there seems to be no clear path to resolving the squabble.
This means that wide swaths of the federal government, from national parks to financial regulation, will be shutdown starting October 1.
Here are some FAQs on the US government shutdown and its impact …
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What is a government shutdown?
A shutdown happens when Congress fails to pass some type of funding legislation that is signed into law by the president. Lawmakers are supposed to pass 12 different spending bills to fund agencies across the government, but the process is time-consuming. They often resort to passing a temporary extension, called a continuing resolution or CR, to allow the government to keep operating.
When no funding legislation is enacted, federal agencies must stop all nonessential work and will not send paychecks as long as the shutdown lasts.
Why is US government staring at a shutdown this time?
There has been sharp disagreements in the Republican Party over the scale of federal debt. This has prevented passage of the bills needed to keep the government funded and open. The GOP currently controls the House of Representatives.
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When is it expected to happen?
The shutdown is likely to happen beginning Sunday, October 1, if the infighting doesn’t get resolved. It is impossible to predict how long a shutdown would last.
Is this the first ever government shutdown in US?
Not really. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, there have been as many as 14 government shutdowns in US since 1980.
The latest shutdown took place in December 2018, when the government did not function for 35 days.
What will be impacted if the shutdown does happen?
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees would be furloughed without pay. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union estimates a full shutdown would mean almost 1.8 million federal workers would not be paid for the duration.
Around 850,000 non-essential workers would be furloughed, according to the non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
However, members of the military and other workers deemed to be essential would continue working without a paycheck.
All other operations classified as “essential” will also continue to operate.
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Will it impact law enforcement operations?
Agents at the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other federal law enforcement agencies would remain on the job, and prison staffers would continue to work. The Secret Service and the Coast Guard would also continue operations, and most employees would continue to work.
Most of the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer-protection workers would be furloughed, as would half of its antitrust employees.
Will the shutdown affect air travel?
While the shutdown is unlikely to affect the flights, air traffic controllers and TSA officers will not be paid until it ends. Morever, the training of new air traffic controllers will stop and 1,000 trainees will be furloughed.
Roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers would be impacted due to the shutdown.
However, the White House warned that an “extreme Republican shutdown” risked causing delays for travelers.
Can the shutdown affect tax services too?
Yes, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would stop examining and auditing tax returns and responding to taxpayer queries. However, automated tax collection would continue, as would processing of green-energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Roughly two-thirds of the agency’s 90,000 employees would be furloughed.
What about visa services?
US embassies and consulates would remain open. This means that passport and visa processing would continue as long as there were sufficient fees to cover operations. Nonessential official travel, speeches and other events would be curtailed.
Will it impact student loans?
With student loan payments resuming in October, officials said that key activities at the Federal Student Aid office would continue for a couple of weeks. But a prolonged shutdown could cause bigger disruptions.
Will people get social security and medical benefits?
A shutdown will not impact social security benefit payments. However, new benefit verification and card issuance services have ceased, meaning new recipients may see delays in processing their claims.
Medicare and Medicaid would continue during the federal government shutdown, but you may experience difficulty reaching these agencies as some employees are furloughed.
What other activites will be impacted?
National parks, monuments, and other sites would be closed for the public. The Smithsonian museums and National Zoo can stay open for about a week after the shudown.
Federal courts have enough money to stay open until at least October 13. Activities might be scaled back after that point. The Supreme Court would stay open as well.
Will the popular Fat Bear Week be impacted?
The looming government also threatens to disrupt the crowd-pleasing Alaska tradition: Fat Bear Week.
Fat Bear Week is Alaska’s most-watched popularity contest which involves residents picking their favorite fat brown bear who’s been stocking up for winter by noshing on salmon in Katmai National Park & Preserve. A champion is crowned in the weeklong contest based on online voting. More than 1 million votes were cast last year.
However, national park employees count and release those votes — and a shutdown won’t allow them to do so because it would trigger a ban on using the park’s official social media accounts for as long as the government is closed.
Will it impact the stock markets?
Yes. The shutdown can rattle financial markets, not just in US but across the globe. Goldman Sachs has estimated that a shutdown would reduce economic growth by 0.2% every week it lasted, but growth would then bounce back after the government reopens.
How can the shutdown end?
It’s the responsibility of Congress to fund the government. The House and Senate have to agree to fund the government in some way, and the president has to sign the legislation into law.
The two sides are deeply entrenched and nowhere near a deal to avert a shutdown.
But if the shutdown lasts for weeks, pressure will build to end the impasse, particularly if active-duty military members miss pay dates on October 13 or November 1. If the wider public starts seeing disruptions in air travel or border security as workers go unpaid, it will further goad Congress to act.
(With inputs from agencies)
