The government shutdown is over. With this being the longest shutdown in U.S. history at 43 days, there are a few things you need to know.
Why did the shutdown start in the first place?
Originally, the shutdown began because of a disagreement between the Democratic and Republican parties over a federal spending budget. Democrats wanted healthcare subsidy extensions, while Republicans refused to comply because they saw it as an unnecessary cost.
When a budget is not agreed upon and signed by both Congress and the President, the government cannot spend money on what it needs to fund. Everything shuts down.
Wait so why were the subsidies such a big deal anyway? Well to put it this way, under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), people who utilize the subsidies now would see an increase of around 114% without them.
What did the shutdown cost us?
During the shutdown, federal workers were not paid. Many took PTO to have some source of income; as a result, areas like airports were practically deserted and poorly staffed. Alongside that, SNAP benefits–government funded assistance for people unable to afford food on their own–were cut off for the 43 million Americans who use them. Families/individuals who depend on SNAP, were left empty handed. Adding on to what we lost: access to National Parks, places meant to provide a free space for the public to enjoy were closed.
According to the CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, we lost close to 11 billion in lost economic activity over those 43 days being shut down. While a previous government shutdown during 2018-2019 did happen, many agencies were already funded at the time, so it only touched 0.02% of the GDP then. Both most recent shutdowns were under President Trump’s administration. The LA Times did cite, “Most of the lost economic activity will be recovered as the government reopens, as federal workers will receive back pay.”
Overall, people were unable to provide for their households, federal workers were not paid, and permanent damage was caused to our already struggling economy.
There is hope in recovering from this.
Why and how did it end?
Eight moderate senators (legislators who avoid extreme ideological positions and are the middleman between Democrats and Republicans) had made a deal with Republican senators to reopen the government because, as they put it, “…it was obvious President Trump and congressional Republicans weren’t going to negotiate, and too many people were suffering.”
The agreed-upon Bill signed by Congress and Trump that reopened the government does not include the healthcare extensions the Democrats were fighting for, but does continue to support SNAP benefits, amongst other related government aids. The Bill funds the government until January 20th, 2026. SNAP, WIC, and related aids are funded until September 2026. Healthcare subsidies are still set to run out December 31st of this year.
Is another shutdown going to happen?
It’s not certain, but many are betting on yes. It all depends on whether the healthcare subsidies will still be fought for this extensively by the Democratic Party and whether the Republican Party will hold their previous stand, alongside other factors, and any new arguments brought up when deciding the next budget.
