Are shutdowns common?
Federal Worker Reactions: Click individual words above to explore what federal workers have to say about a possible government shutdown. And tell us about what your agency is telling you.
Not in recent years. Six shutdowns occurred between fiscal 1977 and fiscal 1980. An additional nine occurred between fiscal 1981 and fiscal 1996. The most recent shutdown stretched from mid-December 1995 until early January 1996.
How long do shutdowns normally last?
Shutdowns in the 1970s and 1980s ranged from three days to 17 days, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). A five-day shutdown occurred in November 1995, and a shutdown stretching from mid-December 1995 to early January 1996 lasted 21 days — the longest in modern history.
If a shutdown occurs, what would stay open and who would have to work?
We won’t know for certain until it happens.
Federal agencies are drafting contingency plans to determine which functions would continue and who would keep working. But the Office of Management and Budget has ordered agencies not to publicly disclose details, frustrating many federal employees and federal worker union leaders who say the silence is causing confusion in the ranks.
If contingency plans are used, the agency would designate some personnel “essential” (or “emergency” and “excepted,” as OMB officially calls them) and others “non-essential” (or “non-excepted”).
According to the government’s official guidance on shutdown planning, agencies should continue any functions providing for national security, critical foreign relations and the safety of life and property.
In other words, global U.S. military operations would continue, air-traffic controllers would watch the skies and Transportation Security Administration officers would still screen air passengers. Veterans Affairs doctors and nurses would report for duty, as would U.S. Border Patrol agents, federal prison guards, any Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel needed for disaster assistance and security guards protecting federal facilities.
With the growth of government contracting and the wider use of technology, however, an untold number of contractors providing information-technology support and other services might also be instructed to stay on the job.
How many federal workers would be impacted?
The first 1995 government shutdown led to furloughs for about 800,000 federal employees, according to CRS. The second 1995-1996 closure impacted only 284,000 federal employees, because several of the regular spending bills had been passed in the meantime.
An untold number of federal contractors were also impacted; the federal government doesn’t track the number of contractors employed by agencies. The federal government spent $535 billion on government contracts in fiscal 2010 — much more than during the 1990s — meaning thousands of more people could be impacted.
Would federal workers and contractors be paid?
Probably. Although federal employees earned retroactive pay for time lost during the ’95-’96 shutdowns, Congress has never considered repaying contractors.
And with fiscally conservative lawmakers determined to control spending levels, federal worker union leaders are cautioning members not to assume they would receive retroactive pay.
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