January 10th, 2019: Government Shut Down Now 20 Days

January 10th, 2019

President Trump just departed McAllen, Tx, where he met with border patrol agents and talked about border security.  He is returning now to Washington, DC, as negotiations to reopen parts of the federal government continue. (Democratic lawmakers and Trump are at an impasse over funding for his long-promised border.)

Also today on January 10th, 2019, federal employees held a rally in Washington, D.C.  to end the shutdown.

The government has been shut down for 20 days. A total of 800,000 federal employees have been furloughed or working without pay since December 21st, 2018, and won't receive their next paychecks until the government reopens.

Food Stamps Could Be Affected by Shutdown

The partial government shutdown glided into its third week Saturday with no end in sight. If the government is not reopened before February, millions of Americans who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- the nation's food stamp program -- could have their assistance disrupted.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP at the federal level, is one of the agencies unfunded during the partial government shutdown. Although SNAP is automatically renewed, it has not been allocated funding from Congress beyond January. Congress has appropriated $3 billion in emergency funds for SNAP distribution, but that would not cover all of February's obligations:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/millions-could-face-severe-cuts-to-food-stamps-due-to-government-shutdown

2019 Veterans Field Guide to Federal Government Shutdown

2019 Veterans Field Guide to Federal Government Shutdown:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/us/politics/federal-workers-government-shutdown.html

This includes services NOT impacted and services that ARE impacted.

More Shutdown News January 2019

How Does a Shutdown End if an Agreement is Never Reached?

So right now, as of 3rd January 2019, the US government is shut down, due to disagreements between President & Congress on border security funding. Both sides are in an apparent stalemate. So my question is simply, what happens if neither side backs down? Does the shut-down just go on indefinitely? How does this end?

Answer:

If necessary, Congress can pass a spending bill without the president's support. Currently Trump claims he will veto any bill which doesn't include funding for the wall. However if two-thirds of each chamber of Congress agree, they can override a presidential veto & end the shutdown. The current Senate has already passed a spending bill without funding for Trump's wall once with a veto-proof majority of 100-0. Instead of voting on that bill though, the Republican-lead House of Representatives voted on a different bill with wall funding that was sure to fail in the Senate. The Senate won't change much in the next Congress, but the House of Representatives will have new leadership & can try to pass a similar bill to what has previously passed the Senate. If the Senate votes similarly & the House gets enough votes they can end the shutdown with or without Trump.

Answer:

The government shutdown is caused by a lapse in funding for government operations & agencies.
The Antideficiency Act mandates that the government can't incur "obligations or the making of expenditures (outlays) in excess of amounts available in appropriations or funds". As explained by The Hill, this act "provides the framework for which government functions temporarily cease & how employees are impacted". Thus, the only way to end a government shutdown is to pass appropriations legislation. This can be in the form of a regular appropriations bill (a yearly budget) or a continuing resolution (CR; a short-term funding bill). Without any appropriations legislation passed, the shutdown will continue indefinitely. Currently, both parties are looking to pass a continuing resolution. However, since there was no agreement on the amount of funding to provide for border security, the Senate passed a CR which doesn't include funding for border security while the House passed a CR which includes $5.7 billion for border security. Since there was no agreement between the Senate & the House, the government shutdown continues to date.

https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/37635/how-does-a-shutdown-end-if-an-agreement-is-never-reached

Some BLM parks in Las Cruces, New Mexico area open, some closed during shutdown:

https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/2019/01/02/some-blm-parks-las-cruces-area-open-some-closed-during-shutdown/2468018002

Despite Huge Backlogs, The Government Shutdown Halts Most Immigration Court Hearings:

http://www.kut.org/post/despite-huge-backlogs-government-shutdown-halts-most-immigration-court-hearings 

White House Supports Back Pay When Shutdown Ends:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-house-supports-back-pay-when-shutdown-ends-after-saying-most-furloughed-workers-are-democrats

National Mall Scene - Monuments during Shutdown:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/god-people-national-mall-scene-symbol-shutdowns-impact/story?id=60118435

Federal workers won't see a check until Jan. 25 at the earliest:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-pay-federal-workers-likely-wont-see-cash-until-jan-25-regardless-of-negotiations

The Government Shutdown Won’t Solve the Immigration Crisis:

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-government-shutdown-wont-solve-the-immigration-crisis 

Impact of the Government Shutdown on General Aviation: 

https://nbaa.org/aircraft-operations/the-government-shutdown-and-business-aviation/impact-of-the-government-shutdown-on-general-aviation

Shutdown Update - 1/3/19

Today on 1/3/19 the following news is out on the status of the Federal Government Shutdown:

http://fortune.com/2019/01/03/shutdown-irs-tax-refund

Government Shutdown Could Delay Tax Refunds:

 https://turnto10.com/news/local/government-shutdown-could-delay-tax-refunds

Democrats Announce Plan to Reopen Government Including Pay Raise for Feds:

https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2019/01/democrats-announce-plan-reopen-government-including-pay-raise-feds/153872

How the Shutdown is Reaching a Breaking Point:

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/01/how-the-shutdown-is-reaching-a-breaking-point-1053885

Furloughed Federal Employees Guide to Filing for Unemployment during the Shutdown:

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/government-shutdown/2019/01/a-furloughed-federal-employees-guide-to-filing-for-unemployment-during-the-shutdown

Government Shutdown Day 13:

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/03/government-shutdown-day-13-1078290

Shutdown Halts E-Verify Checks:

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/423613-shutdown-halts-e-verify-checks-on-capitol-hill

States Most Affected by the Shutdown:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/03/these-states-are-most-affected-by-the-government-shutdown-study-finds.html

How the Government Shutdown Impacts You:

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2019-01-02/heres-how-the-government-shutdown-impacts-you

How the Government Shutdown Affects Health Programs:

https://khn.org/news/how-the-government-shutdown-affects-health-programs

Fannie Mae Releases New Policies for Originations During Government Shutdown: 

https://www.housingwire.com/articles/47823-fannie-mae-releases-new-policies-for-originations-during-government-shutdown

Shutdown by the Numbers:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/politics/shutdown-by-the-numbers/index.html

Government Shutdown - National Parks:

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/01/government-shutdown-ftc-national-parks.html

Latest White House Meeting on Shutdown Resolves Nothing:

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/01/latest-white-house-meeting-on-shutdown-resolves-nothing.html

Federal Government Partial Shutdown December 22 2018

Federal Government Partial Shutdown December 22 2018

On December 22nd, 2018 the United States Federal Government Partially Shut Down.

Some good news: on December 21st, the Senate passed a bill to guarantee furloughed federal employees back pay once the government re-opens.