In the United States, a government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to approve funding for federal agencies. Before 1980, agencies largely continued to operate during funding shortages, assuming that Congress would act quickly.
President Ronald Reagan (right) talks with Vice President George Bush at the White House on October 4, 1984. Under Reagan, the US government shut down eight times. Photo: GI
But in 1980 and 1981, then-Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued a series of legal opinions arguing that government agencies lacked the authority to continue operating during times of financial shortfall.
Since then, the United States has had 14 government shutdowns. President Ronald Reagan witnessed 8, while President Donald Trump witnessed the longest government shutdown, at 34 days, in 2018. Here are the details of the 14 times the White House had to “shutdown”:
November 20, 1981
Time: Two days
White House: President Ronald Reagan
Reason : On November 20, 1981, the Senate passed President Reagan's proposed no-sequestration bill. The bill differed from the version passed in the House, and technically the funding expired at midnight, but because November 21 fell on a Saturday, the impact was not felt immediately. House and Senate negotiators worked through the weekend to reconcile their differences and passed identical bills on Sunday.
On the following Monday, President Reagan vetoed the plan and ordered a government shutdown, furloughing 250,000 federal employees. Later in the day, lawmakers passed a temporary bill to keep the federal government funded and allow more time to negotiate a deal. U.S. workers eventually returned to work the following day.
September 30, 1982
Time: One day
White House: President Ronald Reagan
Reason : The one-day shutdown was not the result of a gridlock but occurred because members of Congress were busy with social activities.
The New York Times reported at the time that “congressional leaders have banned late sessions because of major social events tonight for both Republicans and Democrats.” Specifically, President Reagan invited members of Congress to a barbecue at the White House, while Democrats hosted a $1,000-a-plate fundraising dinner.
President Reagan eventually signed the spending bills passed by Congress.
December 17, 1982
Time: Three days
White House: President Ronald Reagan
Reason : The partial shutdown stemmed from President Reagan's opposition to billions of dollars in job creation funding and Democratic opposition to money for the MX missile program.
November 10, 1983
Duration: Three days
White House: President Ronald Reagan
Reason : The shutdown was sparked by Democrats adding about $1 billion in education spending and cutting foreign aid. House Democrats eventually reduced the education spending request to $100 million and provided money for the MX missile, which President Reagan wanted.
September 30, 1984
Duration: Two days
White House: President Ronald Reagan
Reason : President Reagan and congressional Democrats disagreed on several provisions included in the House-passed funding bill, specifically the crime bill the President supported and the water bill he opposed.
Democrats also want legislation to overturn a Supreme Court decision that found that all colleges that do not receive federal or state funding are not subject to Title IX requirements even though their students receive federal aid.
Lawmakers passed and Reagan signed a bill keeping the government open for a few more days to allow negotiations to continue.
October 3, 1984
Duration: One day
White House: President Ronald Reagan
Reason : The stopgap budget passed days earlier was not enough to prevent another shutdown. Democrats eventually caved in and eliminated water projects and civil rights provisions, and Congress passed a crime bill.
October 16, 1986
Duration: One day
White House: President Ronald Reagan
Reason : Democrats in Congress wanted to expand the benefit, then called “Aid to Families with Dependent Children,” as well as other measures that the White House opposed. Democrats eventually backed down on some of their provisions and were promised a vote on the benefit expansion to end the fiscal impasse.
December 18, 1987
Duration: One day
White House: President Ronald Reagan
Reason : The lack of government funding was the result of disagreements over providing aid to the Contras in Nicaragua and Democrats’ efforts to reinstate the “Fairness Doctrine,” a Federal Communications Commission policy requiring broadcast licensees to cover different sides of controversial issues. The rule was repealed in 1987.
Congress eventually approved non-lethal aid to the Contras in Nicaragua, but Democrats were unsuccessful in their efforts to restore the Fairness Doctrine.
October 5, 1990
Duration: Three days
The White House: President George H.W. Bush
Reason : President Bush said he would veto a short-term funding measure that did not include a deficit reduction plan, forcing a government shutdown. Congress eventually passed a joint budget resolution outlining a deficit reduction plan, and the president signed a resolution to reopen the government.
November 13, 1995
Duration: Five days
White House: President Bill Clinton
Reason : The shutdown that occurred during Clinton's presidency centered on a dispute between him and congressional Republicans over his commitment to balancing the budget and repealing the 1993 tax increase. Republicans, led by House Speaker Newt Gingrich, took control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years in 1995 in what is remembered as the "Republican Revolution."
The Republican-led Congress passed a short-term continuing resolution that sought to raise Medicare premiums and require the president to balance the budget within seven years, among other measures. But President Clinton vetoed the bill, leading to a government shutdown.
President Clinton and Republican congressional leaders finally reached an agreement to fund the government within weeks and allow negotiations to continue.
December 15, 1995
Duration: 21 days
Reason : The additional time given to Congress and the White House in November to continue negotiations was not enough, and the budget expired in mid-December. Unlike the November 1985 shutdown, this one lasted much longer, until early January 1996.
The question then was which agency’s budget projections—the Congressional Budget Office or the White House Office of Management and Budget—should be used to prove that the budget was balanced over the next seven years? Ultimately, Republicans relented: then-Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole indicated in a New Year’s Eve speech that “we should stop this. I mean, it’s gotten a little ridiculous, this far.”
September 30, 2013
Duration: 16 days
White House: President Barack Obama
Why: The fight began over the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) and the Republican push to dismantle key parts of President Obama’s signature health care law. The Republican-led House passed two spending bills, one of which would have delayed Obamacare’s implementation, both of which were rejected by the Democratic-led Senate.
A police officer walks past a sign announcing the closure of the Lincoln Memorial during the partial U.S. government shutdown on October 1, 2013. Photo: GI
President Obama called for a spending bill without strings attached, but Republicans ultimately decided to shut down the government over opposition to the landmark health care law.
House Republicans led by House Speaker John Boehner finally gave in to Democrats and passed a short-term spending bill that did not include changes to Obamacare.
January 19, 2018
Duration: Two days
White House: President Donald Trump
The reason : The shutdown, which officially began on the one-year anniversary of Mr. Trump’s inauguration, stems from a battle over immigration and, in particular, Democrats’ demand to protect immigration policies known as “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA).
Democrats eventually relented after Republicans pledged to work toward a deal to resolve DACA and Trump signed a short-term funding bill to reopen the government.
December 21, 2018
Duration: 34 days
White House: President Donald Trump
Reason: This shutdown is related to Mr. Trump's demand for $5.7 billion to pay for a wall along the US-Mexico border.
President Donald Trump holds up a photo of a "typical standard wall design" during the US government shutdown in January 2019. Photo: GI
As the shutdown became the longest in history and Democrats took control of the House, Trump finally signed a bill that reopened agencies for three weeks and did not provide funding for the border wall. The government reopened on January 25, 2019.
Weeks later, Congress averted another shutdown by passing a measure that included $1.375 billion for the border wall, far less than the $5.7 billion Trump demanded.
Nguyen Khanh
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