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Government shutdown
No appropriations law, no spending. What stops, what continues, and how it ends.
The federal fiscal year starts on October 1. By then Congress must pass the twelve appropriations bills, or a continuing resolution that extends current funding.
All steps in text
- The federal fiscal year starts on October 1. By then Congress must pass the twelve appropriations bills, or a continuing resolution that extends current funding.
- When neither passes, the Antideficiency Act bars agencies from spending money Congress has not appropriated.
- Nonessential operations pause and their employees are furloughed. Work that protects life and property continues, without pay until funding returns.
- Mandatory programs like Social Security and Medicare keep paying, because their money comes from permanent law, not the yearly bills. The debt is still serviced.
- A shutdown ends when a funding bill passes both chambers and is signed. Since 2019 federal employees are guaranteed back pay by law.