Funding Gaps and Shutdowns in the Federal Government
Historical Highlight
As required by the Constitution, all three branches of the federal government are funded through the appropriations process in the United States Congress. All federal spending bills originate in the House of Representatives, where they fall under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations. In 1865, the House moved the appropriations function away from the Ways and Means Committee, creating the Appropriations Committee to oversee the spending requirements of the Union’s war effort during the waning days of the Civil War. Since then, the obligations and responsibilities of the federal government have only grown.
Because the appropriations process can be such a complicated task, the Appropriations Committee divides its work among 12 subcommittees, each of which is responsible for producing a bill that funds particular departments and areas of the government. Like any other bill, spending measures must pass both the House and Senate and be signed by the President to become law. Congress conducts the appropriations process annually, for each fiscal year beginning every October 1. If regular appropriations bills are not signed into law before the start of the new fiscal year, Congress can pass a continuing resolution, or CR, which provides temporary funding in the interim period before regular appropriations bills are passed. If a new fiscal year begins or a continuing resolution expires without Congress appropriating new funds, parts of the federal government can experience a lapse in funding.
About this object This 1888 print illustrates the Appropriations Committee in session with Chairman Samuel Randall at the head of the table, on the left.
Funding Gaps Since 1977
The table below lists funding gaps that have lasted for at least one full day.3 The "Shutdown Procedures Followed" column is marked "yes" if agencies were closed and their employees furloughed as a result of the funding gap. This includes both full and partial shutdowns. In some instances, funding gaps after 1980 had limited effects on government operations because the gaps were either too short or occurred over a weekend, meaning affected agencies did not begin shutdown procedures before Congress restored funding.4
| Fiscal Year | Date Funding Ended | Duration of Funding Gap (in Days) | Date Funding Restored | Shutdown Procedures Followed | Legislation Restoring Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | September 30, 1976 | 10 | October 11, 1976 | No | H.J. Res. 1105 Pub. L. 94-473 90 Stat. 2065 |
| 1978 | September 30, 1977 | 12 | October 13, 1977 | No | H.J. Res. 626 Pub. L. 95-130 91 Stat. 1153 |
| 1978 | October 31, 1977 | 8 | November 9, 1977 | No | H.J. Res. 643 Pub. L. 95-165 91 Stat. 1323 |
| 1978 | November 30, 1977 | 8 | December 9, 1977 | No | H.J. Res 662 Pub. L. 95-205 91 Stat. 1460 |
| 1979 | September 30, 1978 | 17 | October 18, 1978 | No | H.R. 12929 Pub. L. 95-480 92 Stat. 1567 H.R. 12931 Pub. L. 95-481 92 Stat. 1591 H.J. Res. 1139 Pub. L. 95-482 92 Stat. 1603 |
| 1980 | September 30, 1979 | 11 | October 12, 1979 | No | H.J. Res. 412 Pub. L. 96-86 93 Stat. 656 |
| 1982 | November 20, 1981 | 2 | November 23, 1981 | Yes5 | H.J. Res. 368 Pub. L. 97-85 95 Stat. 1098 |
| 1983 | September 30, 1982 | 1 | October 2, 1982 | Yes6 | H.J. Res. 599 Pub. L. 97-276 96 Stat. 1186 |
| 1983 | December 17, 1982 | 3 | December 21, 1982 | No7 | H.J. Res. 631 Pub. L. 97-377 96 Stat. 1830 |
| 1984 | November 10, 1983 | 3 | November 14, 1983 | No8 | H.J. Res 413 Pub. L. 98-151 97 Stat. 964 |
| 1985 | September 30, 1984 | 2 | October 3, 1984 | No9 | H.J. Res. 653 Pub. L. 98-441 98 Stat. 1699 |
| 1985 | October 3, 1984 | 1 | October 5, 1984 | Yes10 | H.J. Res. 656 Pub. L. 98-453 98 Stat. 1731 |
| 1987 | October 16, 1986 | 1 | October 18, 1986 | Yes11 | H.J. Res. 73812 Pub. L. 99-500 100 Stat. 1783 Pub. L. 99-591 100 Stat. 3341 |
| 1988 | December 18, 1987 | 1 | December 20, 1987 | No13 | H.J. Res. 431 Pub. L. 100-197 101 Stat. 1314 |
| 1991 | October 5, 1990 | 3 | October 9, 1990 | Yes14 | H.J. Res. 666 Pub. L. 101-412 104 Stat. 894 |
| 1996 | November 13, 1995 | 5 | November 19, 1995 | Yes15 | H.R. 2020 Pub. L. 104-52 109 Stat. 468 H.R. 2492 Pub. L. 104-53 109 Stat. 514 H.J. Res. 123 Pub. L. 104-54 109 Stat. 540 |
| 1996 | December 15, 1995 | 21 | January 6, 1996 | Yes16 | H.J. Res. 134 Pub. L. 104-94 110 Stat. 25 |
| 2014 | September 30, 2013 | 16 | October 17, 2013 | Yes | H.R. 2775 Pub. L. 113-46 127 Stat. 558 |
| 2018 | January 19, 2018 | 2 | January 22, 2018 | Yes17 | H.R. 195 Pub. L. 115-120 132 Stat. 28 |
| 2019 | December 21, 2018 | 34 | January 25, 2019 | Yes | H.J. Res. 28 Pub. L. 116-5 133 Stat. 10 |
Footnotes
1James V. Saturno, “Federal Funding Gaps: A Brief Overview,” Report RS20348, 4 February 2019, Congressional Research Service: 4, https://www.crs.gov/Reports/RS20348.
2Saturno, “Federal Funding Gaps”: 1; 16 Stat. 251 (1870).
3Saturno, “Federal Funding Gaps”: 3.
4Saturno, “Federal Funding Gaps”: 2.
5“Shutdown Questions, Answers,” 24 November 1981, Washington Post: A5.
6Mike Causey, “The Federal Diary: Cost of Day's Chaos Around $88 Million,” 3 October 1982, Washington Post: C2; “Stopgap Funding Measure Adopted,” 1 October 1982, Atlanta Constitution: 3A. While furloughs were not anticipated on October 1 in this case, some offices were told to perform only essential operations and to follow shutdown procedures. It was unclear whether employees were still required to report to work.
7Karlyn Barker, “White House Tells Civil Servants to Report to Work,” 21 December 1982, Washington Post: A7.
8Paul Houston, “Seven Agencies Run Out of Money as Stopgap Funding Bill Is Delayed,” 11 November 1983, Los Angeles Times: B5; “Funding Bill is Signed by Reagan,” 15 November 1983, Philadelphia Inquirer: A5.
9On October 1, Congress passed a three-day stopgap spending bill, but the President didn’t sign it until October 3. In this instance, the anticipated funding prevented a shutdown during the three-day period. See Paul Houston, “Congress Passes Stopgap Spending Bill,” 2 October 1984, Los Angeles Times: 4, and Helen Dewar, “Federal Shutdown Readied as Senate Works on Funding,” 4 October 1984, Washington Post: A1; Public Law 98-441, 98 Stat. 1699.
10U.S. Goes 'Broke,' Furloughs 500,000,” 4 October 1984, Philadelphia Daily News: 4.
11Sharon LaFraniere and Peter Perl, “Federal Workers Create Noon Stampede: Most of 350,000 Employes Here Sent Home in Spending Bill Crisis,” 18 October 1986, Washington Post: A1.
12The President first signed H. J. Res. 738 into law on October 18, 1986, where it became Public Law 99-500. It was later discovered that a clerical error during the enrollment process caused several lines from the bill to be omitted. The President signed a corrected version of H. J. Res. 738 on October 30, which became Public Law 99-591.
13Karen Tumulty, “Congress Near Money Bill Accord: Emergency 1-Day Funding Averts Federal Shutdown,” 21 December 1987, Los Angeles Times: SDA1; Tom Kenworthy and Anne Swardson, “Congress Okays Stopgap Money,” 21 December 1987, St. Petersburg Times: 1A; Karen Tumulty, “Deal Sought Over Funds for Contras, Federal Shutdown Looms as Congress Awaits Money Bill,” 20 December 1987, Los Angeles Times: 1.
14National parks and federal museums were closed but most employees were not affected; funding was restored before the end of the weekend. Elaine Povich, “Bush, Congress Ok Plan to Avert Federal Shutdown,” 9 October 1990, Chicago Tribune: D1.
15Robert Manor et al., “Federal Workers get Sent Home, Shutdown Means Job Limbo for Thousands Here,” 15 November 1995, St. Louis Dispatch: 1.A.
16Eric Pianin and John F. Harris, “Clinton Signs Measures to Halt Shutdown,” 6 January 1996, Washington Post: A1.
17Robert Costa et al., “House Votes to end Government Shutdown, Sending Legislation to Trump,” 22 January 2018, Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/trump-slams-democrats-as-third-day-of-government-shutdown-begins/2018/01/22/3a3eecf0-ff25-11e7-9d31-d72cf78dbeee_story.html.