If one were to tune into any liberal media outlet, the doomsday clock is to strike at 12:01 AM on Saturday. Not the actual doomsday clock indicating the chance of a nuclear conflict, but the one that triggers a government shutdown.
The media knows that, as a practical matter, a government shutdown doesn't mean anything to most people. But stating so isn't newsworthy. So, they inflate the story to make it appear as though things are a lot worse than they actually are.
A government shutdown occurs when the U.S. Congress fails to pass funding legislation to cover the operations of federal agencies and departments. The deadline for this is Saturday at 12:01. Even if Congress were to pass something to avert a shutdown, our editorial holds for future such instances.
While shutdowns are rare—only five have occurred during the last 30 years—they are happening more frequently. The previous three shutdowns, one under Obama and two under Trump, hit Washington in the last 11 years. The longest shutdown in U.S. history, 35 days, resulted from a standoff - President Trump quarreled with Congress over funding for a proposed border wall between the U.S. and Mexico- affecting numerous federal operations and employees.
The financial impact is minimal. By law, critical services like Social Security payments, law enforcement, air traffic control, military operations, emergency medical care, and mail delivery continue during a shutdown. Essential federal workers are required to work but won't get paid during the shutdown; their earnings will be retroactively paid when the shutdown ends.
"Non-essential" employees are those whose jobs are not deemed critical to the safety of human life or the protection of property during a funding lapse. These are generally workers in administrative, human resources, training, and support roles in agencies like the National Park Service, NASA, the Passport Office, or national museums and libraries. War memorials in Washington will rope off monuments with signs saying that the popular tourist spots are closed because of the shutdown. Many government regulatory and enforcement actions— for example, civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission against a company that has violated securities law—will pause during a shutdown. These workers will be placed on an unpaid leave.
Then again, the term "unpaid leave" is inherently inaccurate. In 2019, Congress passed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, which guarantees that all federal employees—whether furloughed or required to work without pay during a shutdown—receive retroactive pay once the government reopens. In other words, non-essential workers get free vacation time during the shutdown, are not responsible for completing any tasks, and will get back pay once the shutdown ends. For most federal employees, it's an excellent deal.
A long enough furlough may impact some non-essential federal employees living paycheck to paycheck. However, most federal credit unions extend zero-interest or low-cost loans to cover the period, significantly lowering the impact.
Many government agencies want to promote the false idea that shutdowns disrupt everyday life, and with the help of the propaganda press, these agencies are eager to amplify this message.
Shutdowns are great theater for liberal politicians. Shutdowns place on full display the dysfunction of our government and provide an opportunity for liberals to bad-mouth other legislators who caused the shutdown as “people who don't care enough about their constituents.”
Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, tweeted: "Hard to imagine anything more heartless than shutting down the government and leaving disaster victims out in the cold just days before Christmas. Absolutely outrageous this is even a possibility." Warner was the same senator who stayed silent when President Biden's FEMA delayed disaster support to North Carolina citizens during the storms two months ago.
Connecticut Third District Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking member of the House Committee on Appropriations and a 33-year-Congresswoman who proudly promotes her pork-barrel spending projects to benefit her district, erupted: "The American public has been clamoring for this body to work together, Democrats and Republicans across the aisle, to do what is in the best interest of the American people ...And you know what? They got scared because 'President' Musk told them, 'President' Musk said, 'Don't do it. Don't do it. Shut the government down....’ Imagine! What does he know about what people go through when the government shuts down? Are his employees furloughed? Hell no. Is he furloughed? No."
CRs are not the answer. Washington is in this perennial mess because it resorts to one-size-fits-all omnibus spending bills, always rushed through as a Continuing Resolution with days to spare, with influential members' every pet project included. The House is then asked to vote for the entire bill up or down.
Congress hasn't used the formal appropriations process since 1997. CRs were never intended to replace the actual appropriations process, a formal procedure through which the U.S. Congress allocates funding to federal government agencies, departments, and programs.
The world-class appropriations process starts with the President submitting a proposed federal budget to Congress, typically in February for the next fiscal year (beginning October 1). The House and Senate Budget Committees then draft a budget resolution, which sets overall spending limits for the federal government.
Finally, Congress divides funding responsibilities among 12 appropriations subcommittees in the House and Senate, each overseeing a specific part of the federal budget (e.g., Defense, Agriculture, Education). Each subcommittee drafts an appropriations bill that allocates funds to the departments and programs under its jurisdiction.
The appropriations bills are debated, amended, and voted on in both chambers of Congress. Differences between the House and Senate versions are resolved in a conference committee.
Once the final version of each appropriations bill is approved by both the House and Senate, it is sent to the President for his or her signature.
If the President signs the bill, it becomes law. If the President vetoes the bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority in both chambers.
Completing all appropriations bills on time - and using the appropriations process - has been rare. Since the current budget process was established in 1976, Congress has passed all required appropriations measures on time only four times: for fiscal years 1977, 1989, 1995, and 1997.
It is little wonder that America has a $36 trillion debt burden but still experiences periodic government shutdowns. However, no one in the legacy media wants to disclose this truth to the public.
