Will the US government shut down on October 1 if the Congress fails to pass several federal spending bills? That is the question on&nbsp;everyone's mind.

If the Congress fails to pass 12 key appropriation bills by September 30, the last day of the US government fiscal year, the federal administration would come to a standstill and employees would not be paid for an unspecified period of time.

A full or partial shutdown of the US government is undoubtably going to have a major impact on the world's largest economy, ranging from lower economic output to delay in the release of key economic data.

Consequently, the impact of a US shutdown, estimated to be between $6 billion and $13.5 billion each week in total lost economic activity, would leave a significant mark on the larger global economy.

To make matters worse for the US, the shutdown would come at a time when recession fears loom large on the economy.

But shutdowns are not a new phenomena&nbsp;for the US federal government. In fact, the federal administration has shut down at least 14 times since 1981. However, there is a silver lining for the government: most shutdowns have lasted not more than two or three days&nbsp;as the Congress goes on an overdrive to break the deadlock.

The obscure genesis

Spending in the US has always run on deficit. This was true even before the 1980s, when shutdowns became the order of the day whenever the legislature failed to sanction funds. But prior to the 1980s, the government did not abruptly shut down in the event of a legislative deadlock over federal funding.

Had it not been for a legislative assistant Ron McCluskey, who re-discovered the then-obscure 19th Century Anti-deficiency Act, the United States would never have never undergone so many shutdowns in the last four decades.

To put it in simple words, the Anti-deficiency Act, passed by President Ulysses S. Grant administration in 1870, restricts the federal government from operating in the absence of Congress-backed funding.

Reports suggest that McCluskey alerted Democrat Congresswoman Gladys Noon Spellman about the provision. Spellman, who had been working towards a bill allowing US workers to receive their salaries even amid a funding crunch, wrote to then Comptroller General Elmer Staats for an opinion.

But Staats did not favour a shutdown of the US government. Spellman then asked for a second opinion from the Justice Department. On April 25, 1980, then-Attorney General Benjamin R. Civiletti responded. A 1981 Washington Post report quoted him as saying, "Federal agencies may incur no obligations that cannot lawfully be funded under prior Congressional appropriations."

This statement sealed the deal for the Jimmy Carter administration, which was already under attack from various quarters for being "weak".

The May Day shutdown

The US federal government shutdown lasted for one full day on May 1, 1980, coincidently on a day when labour unions across the world commemorate the contributions of workers.

The first-ever shutdown affected the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), after the Congress allowed the bill to provide the watchdog with $55 million to lapse. This happened amid a tussle between the Congress and the Carter-led White House over a bill that would have curtailed the investigation powers of the FTC. Since Carter took office in 1977, many Congress members and business leaders felt that the watchdog was "aggressively monitoring" virtually every segment of the US economy.

Amid the tussle between the White House and the Congress, Carter decided to play hardball. Armed with Civiletti's extreme interpretation of the Anti-deficiency Act, he decided to shut the FTC till the deadlock over its funding did not end.

On May 1, 1,600 employees of the FTC were furloughed -- a term used in the US to mean employees who are on the payrolls but cannot work.

A May 1, 1980 report by the Washington Post noted that the hurriedly announced shutdown compelled the watchdog to halt all its operations. "The order forced staff members to cancel travel plans as well as a major court appearance and a series of activities connected with antitrust and consumer protection cases," the report added.

But the shutdown ended that evening after both Houses of the Congress approved an extension of funding. The economic cost of the one-day shutdown came to light a year later. In March 1981, the Government Accountability Office claimed that the shutdown led to a loss of $700,000.&nbsp;The loss amounts&nbsp;to over $2 million, when adjusted for inflation in 2022.

Will the US government shut down on October 1 if the Congress fails to pass several federal spending bills? That is the question on everyone's mind. If the Congress fails to pass 12 key appropriation bills by September 30, the last day of the US government fiscal year, the federal administration would come to a standstill and employees would not be paid for an unspecified period of time.

Will the US government shut down on October 1 if the Congress fails to pass several federal spending bills? That is the question on everyone's mind. If the Congress fails to pass 12 key appropriation bills by September 30, the last day of the US government fiscal year, the federal administration would come to a standstill and employees would not be paid for an unspecified period of time. A full or partial shutdown of the US government is undoubtably going to have a major impact on the world's largest economy, ranging from lower economic output to delay in the release of key economic data. Consequently, the impact of a US shutdown, estimated to be between $6 billion and $13.5 billion each week in total lost economic activity, would leave a significant mark on the larger global economy. To make matters worse for the US, the shutdown would come at a time when recession fears loom large on the economy. But shutdowns are not a new phenomena for the US federal government. In fact, the federal administration has shut down at least 14 times since 1981. However, there is a silver lining for the government: most shutdowns have lasted not more than two or three days as the Congress goes on an overdrive to break the deadlock. The obscure genesis Spending in the US has always run on deficit. This was true even before the 1980s, when shutdowns became the order of the day whenever the legislature failed to sanction funds. But prior to the 1980s, the government did not abruptly shut down in the event of a legislative deadlock over federal funding. Had it not been for a legislative assistant Ron McCluskey, who re-discovered the then-obscure 19th Century Anti-deficiency Act, the United States would never have never undergone so many shutdowns in the last four decades. To put it in simple words, the Anti-deficiency Act, passed by President Ulysses S. Grant administration in 1870, restricts the federal government from operating in the absence of Congress-backed funding. Reports suggest that McCluskey alerted Democrat Congresswoman Gladys Noon Spellman about the provision. Spellman, who had been working towards a bill allowing US workers to receive their salaries even amid a funding crunch, wrote to then Comptroller General Elmer Staats for an opinion. But Staats did not favour a shutdown of the US government. Spellman then asked for a second opinion from the Justice Department. On April 25, 1980, then-Attorney General Benjamin R. Civiletti responded. A 1981 Washington Post report quoted him as saying, "Federal agencies may incur no obligations that cannot lawfully be funded under prior Congressional appropriations." This statement sealed the deal for the Jimmy Carter administration, which was already under attack from various quarters for being "weak". The May Day shutdown The US federal government shutdown lasted for one full day on May 1, 1980, coincidently on a day when labour unions across the world commemorate the contributions of workers. The first-ever shutdown affected the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), after the Congress allowed the bill to provide the watchdog with $55 million to lapse. This happened amid a tussle between the Congress and the Carter-led White House over a bill that would have curtailed the investigation powers of the FTC. Since Carter took office in 1977, many Congress members and business leaders felt that the watchdog was "aggressively monitoring" virtually every segment of the US economy. Amid the tussle between the White House and the Congress, Carter decided to play hardball. Armed with Civiletti's extreme interpretation of the Anti-deficiency Act, he decided to shut the FTC till the deadlock over its funding did not end. On May 1, 1,600 employees of the FTC were furloughed -- a term used in the US to mean employees who are on the payrolls but cannot work. A May 1, 1980 report by the Washington Post noted that the hurriedly announced shutdown compelled the watchdog to halt all its operations. "The order forced staff members to cancel travel plans as well as a major court appearance and a series of activities connected with antitrust and consumer protection cases," the report added. But the shutdown ended that evening after both Houses of the Congress approved an extension of funding. The economic cost of the one-day shutdown came to light a year later. In March 1981, the Government Accountability Office claimed that the shutdown led to a loss of $700,000. The loss amounts to over $2 million, when adjusted for inflation in 2022.

Flashback Friday: How an obscure law triggered the first US shutdown in 1980

US job creation saw another blockbuster month in January, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-government-shutdown-subtracted-11-billion-from-economy-congressional-report-193522">blowing past the government shutdown</a>, but that disruption helped to push the unemployment rate higher, the Labour Department reported Friday.

The construction, health care, hospitality and retail sectors added tens of thousands workers, another sign the robust labour market remain a fundamental source of strength even though the US economy is expected to slow in 2019.&nbsp;

The new numbers were also fresh welcome news for President Donald Trump, whose already-low public approval rating suffered in the wake of the longest government shutdown in US history.

Employers added 304,000 net new positions last month -- the highest in nearly a year and almost double what economists had predicted -- while growth in worker pay held steady just above inflation, according to the report.

However, the five-week government shutdown was at least partly responsible for an uptick in the jobless rate to 4.0 per cent, the highest in seven months.

And hiring in December was revised sharply downward to a still-strong 222,000, but far lower than the 312,000 positions initially reported.&nbsp;

While the partial shutdown of the federal government between December and January idled 800,000 government workers, the Labor Department still counted furloughed employees -- who would receive back pay -- as employed, leaving the monthly job creation numbers unaffected.

But the shutdown was also a driver of the rise in the unemployment rate, since the separate survey of households used to determine the joblessness counted furloughed workers as well as contractors as unemployed.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, the increase in unemployment also was the result of more workers coming off the sidelines to join the job hunt. That increased the size of the labour force, driving the closely watched laborforce participation rate up to 63.2 per cent, its highest level in more than five years.

The shutdown also drove about a half million people into part-time work, swelling this group to 5.1 million, its highest level in 16 months.&nbsp;

Hourly pay grew a token 0.1 per cent over December but was up 3.2 per cent over January of last year, well above consumer inflation of 1.9 per cent in the same period, leaving American workers with greater purchasing power.

Employment in leisure and hospitality grew by 74,000 jobs for the month, with restaurants and bars adding 32,000, while construction added 52,000 workers and hospitals and ambulatory care centres together added about 41,000 net new positions.

US job creation saw another blockbuster month in January, blowing past the government shutdown, but that disruption helped to push the unemployment rate higher, the Labour Department reported Friday.

US job creation saw another blockbuster month in January, blowing past the government shutdown, but that disruption helped to push the unemployment rate higher, the Labour Department reported Friday. The construction, health care, hospitality and retail sectors added tens of thousands workers, another sign the robust labour market remain a fundamental source of strength even though the US economy is expected to slow in 2019. The new numbers were also fresh welcome news for President Donald Trump, whose already-low public approval rating suffered in the wake of the longest government shutdown in US history. Employers added 304,000 net new positions last month -- the highest in nearly a year and almost double what economists had predicted -- while growth in worker pay held steady just above inflation, according to the report. However, the five-week government shutdown was at least partly responsible for an uptick in the jobless rate to 4.0 per cent, the highest in seven months. And hiring in December was revised sharply downward to a still-strong 222,000, but far lower than the 312,000 positions initially reported. While the partial shutdown of the federal government between December and January idled 800,000 government workers, the Labor Department still counted furloughed employees -- who would receive back pay -- as employed, leaving the monthly job creation numbers unaffected. But the shutdown was also a driver of the rise in the unemployment rate, since the separate survey of households used to determine the joblessness counted furloughed workers as well as contractors as unemployed. Meanwhile, the increase in unemployment also was the result of more workers coming off the sidelines to join the job hunt. That increased the size of the labour force, driving the closely watched laborforce participation rate up to 63.2 per cent, its highest level in more than five years. The shutdown also drove about a half million people into part-time work, swelling this group to 5.1 million, its highest level in 16 months. Hourly pay grew a token 0.1 per cent over December but was up 3.2 per cent over January of last year, well above consumer inflation of 1.9 per cent in the same period, leaving American workers with greater purchasing power. Employment in leisure and hospitality grew by 74,000 jobs for the month, with restaurants and bars adding 32,000, while construction added 52,000 workers and hospitals and ambulatory care centres together added about 41,000 net new positions.

US job creation at record high in January despite shutdown,  Labour department data reveals

US&nbsp;Vice President Mike Pence and other senior Trump administration officials met on Saturday with Democratic congressional staffers to try to break a deadlock over a proposed border wall and end a two-week-old partial government shutdown.

President Donald Trump is demanding $5.6 billion to build a wall along the US&nbsp;border with Mexico but Democrats in control of the House of Representatives this week passed a bill to reopen the government without providing additional funding for the wall.

Trump says he will not sign the bill until he gets the money for the wall.

With the two sides sticking to their positions, a quarter of the federal government has been closed for two weeks, leaving 800,000 public workers unpaid.

Before entering the talks on Saturday, Pence said in a tweet that the administration's goal was not just to end the shutdown but "to provide funding to end the crisis at our southern border, achieve real border security &amp; to build the wall!"

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a senior adviser, also attended the meeting at the White House, along with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and new White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

They were negotiating with senior staff for the top Democrats in Congress.

Nancy Pelosi, the new Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, said this week that Trump's proposed wall was "immoral" and a "waste of money."

Trump reiterated his demand for a border wall in a series of tweets on Saturday.

"The Democrats could solve the Shutdown problem in a very short period of time," Trump said. "All they have to do is approve REAL Border Security (including a Wall), something which everyone, other than drug dealers, human traffickers and criminals, want very badly!"

Trump threatened on Friday to take the step of using emergency powers to build the wall without Congress' approval. Such a move would almost certainly be met with legal challenges.

US Vice President Mike Pence and other senior Trump administration officials met on Saturday with Democratic congressional staffers to try to break a deadlock over a proposed border wall and end a two-week-old partial government shutdown.

US Vice President Mike Pence and other senior Trump administration officials met on Saturday with Democratic congressional staffers to try to break a deadlock over a proposed border wall and end a two-week-old partial government shutdown. President Donald Trump is demanding $5.6 billion to build a wall along the US border with Mexico but Democrats in control of the House of Representatives this week passed a bill to reopen the government without providing additional funding for the wall. Trump says he will not sign the bill until he gets the money for the wall. With the two sides sticking to their positions, a quarter of the federal government has been closed for two weeks, leaving 800,000 public workers unpaid. Before entering the talks on Saturday, Pence said in a tweet that the administration's goal was not just to end the shutdown but "to provide funding to end the crisis at our southern border, achieve real border security & to build the wall!" Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a senior adviser, also attended the meeting at the White House, along with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and new White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. They were negotiating with senior staff for the top Democrats in Congress. Nancy Pelosi, the new Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, said this week that Trump's proposed wall was "immoral" and a "waste of money." Trump reiterated his demand for a border wall in a series of tweets on Saturday. "The Democrats could solve the Shutdown problem in a very short period of time," Trump said. "All they have to do is approve REAL Border Security (including a Wall), something which everyone, other than drug dealers, human traffickers and criminals, want very badly!" Trump threatened on Friday to take the step of using emergency powers to build the wall without Congress' approval. Such a move would almost certainly be met with legal challenges.

Mike Pence meets with Democratic aides to discuss shutdown impasse

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