House to Vote on Ending Partial Government Shutdown on Tuesday
The federal government is shut down once again. What caused this latest shutdown, when is it expected to resolve, and what services have been impacted? Read on for all of the details.
Details of the Latest Government Shutdown
The government is in the middle of a partial shutdown after Congress failed to pass the latest funding package by the deadline late last week. It is not likely that the government will reopen until at least Tuesday. This is when the House is scheduled to hold a vote on the funding package.
While the Senate had pushed through the bill ahead of the deadline last week, the House was on recess when it came time to vote. This recess further delayed the vote, putting the future of the spending bill into question in the short term.
The good news is that this event does not have the same ramifications as the historic shutdown last fall. This is because only some agencies have been mandated to stop operations, as the rest have already been funded through the rest of the fiscal year.
Agencies that are still open through this shutdown include the departments of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Interior, Energy, Justice, and Commerce. As a result of these agencies being open for business, there is no danger of Americans losing their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This is in contrast to the last shutdown, an event that left millions of SNAP recipients without money for food.
Should Congress not reach a deal this week, it is likely that travel delays will once again mount at airports. Many federal workers could also miss a round of paychecks. In addition, the ability of small businesses to obtain some types of federal loans could be compromised.
The impacted agencies this time around include the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, State, Labor, and Treasury. These agencies are responsible for over three-quarters of federal discretionary spending.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released guidance to government agencies on Friday, advising them on how to proceed through the shutdown. This memo included guidance on informing workers whether they will be furloughed during this shutdown.
The current partial shutdown is estimated to impact about 45% of the approximately 2.2 million civilian federal workers. Over 500,000 federal employees may have to work without pay, while another 480,000 could be in danger of being furloughed.
Despite the Department of the Treasury falling under the impacted agencies, all of the nearly 75,000 workers employed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will remain employed until February. The IRS confirmed these plans in an updated contingency plan posted Friday. Because this shutdown is coming as tax season gets started, the IRS will fund its operations through other sources, including the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The IRS is assuring the public that "taxpayers also should continue to meet any federal tax filing or payment obligations as normal.”
What is Causing the Stalemate in Congress?
While it was the disagreement surrounding the extension of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced subsidies that triggered the last shutdown, this current shutdown is being fueled by outrage aimed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The shooting deaths of two American citizens in Minneapolis in recent weeks have raised concern over the role of these agents.
Senate Democrats said that they would block the House-passed spending bill unless several reforms were made to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Democrats also said they would consider passing the bill if the DHS funding were separated from the rest of the legislation.
Democratic leaders are calling for a long list of concessions related to DHS. For instance, Democrats are asking for restrictions on roving patrols, tighter rules surrounding warrants for searches and arrests, and requiring ICE agents to remove their masks and wear body cameras.
What are the Next Steps to End the Shutdown?
The White House has already backed the Senate-passed spending package, removing one major barrier in the way of ending the partial shutdown. President Donald Trump said that he was hopeful that the shutdown would end soon when speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon.
House Speaker Mike Johnson can only afford to lose one GOP vote to pass the package in that chamber. Although Johnson had previously enjoyed a two-vote margin, Democrats are expected to swear in their newest colleague on Monday night. Christian Menefee from the state of Texas won a special election over the weekend.
Johnson spent the day Monday meeting with Republican leaders to lock down the necessary votes to secure the funding deal. In a rare move, Senate Majority Leader John Thune urged his House counterparts to fund the government without trying to add more requests to the package.
It is also being reported that Trump is personally calling House Republicans to get their assurance that they will vote yes on the bill on Tuesday. Should the bill pass on Tuesday, the impacts on federal workers would be minimal.
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