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

The top four Democratic and Republican congressional negotiators on border security funding resumed talks on Monday, with the possibility of another partial US government shutdown looming if they fail to reach a deal by a Friday deadline.

The talks, which had broken down over the weekend, restarted in the US Capitol just hours before a scheduled rally in the Texas border city of El Paso, where President Donald Trump will promote his promised wall along the US-Mexico border, a proposal opposed by Democrats.

An anti-wall protest will greet the Republican president, led by hometown Democrat Beto O'Rourke, the former congressman who is considering running for his party's 2020 presidential nomination after gaining national prominence last year by nearly upsetting Republican Ted Cruz in a US Senate race in Texas.

In Washington, the lawmakers hope to reach an agreement on Monday to allow time for the legislation to pass the House of Representatives and Senate and get Trump's signature by Friday, when funding is due to expire for the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and several other federal agencies.

Trump, who in December said he would be "proud" to shut the federal government over border security, took a different tack on Monday. "It's up to the Democrats," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked whether the government was headed toward its second shutdown of the winter.

The talks stumbled over the weekend over funding for physical barriers along the border and a Democratic proposal to reduce allotted spaces in immigration detention facilities for people facing deportation.

Democrats oppose the Trump administration expanding its capacity to hold more people arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for eventual deportation.

The White House and the top Republican in Congress on Monday blasted the Democratic plan, which calls for lowering an existing cap on beds at the detention facilities to 35,520 from the current 40,520 in return for giving Republicans some of the money they want for physical border barriers.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the proposal a "poison pill" introduced into the talks by the Democrats, saying it would result in the release of thousands of illegal immigrants.

'CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC'

House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, a Democrat who heads the House-Senate negotiating committee, expressed hope for a deal as she headed into the meeting.

The House Appropriations Committee's top Republican, Kay Granger, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, a Republican, and that panel's top Democrat, Patrick Leahy, attended the talks, which lasted a little over an hour.

Granger said some progress was made and the four would meet again later in the evening. "We had a good discussion. It’s like all negotiations go. We put out what we want, what they want, we didn’t finish, we will be meeting again today," she said.

Trump's December demand for $5.7 billion to help construct a border wall triggered a 35-day partial government shutdown that ended last month without him getting wall funding. Trump agreed to reopen the government for three weeks to allow congressional negotiators time to find a compromise on government funding for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on September 30, to avert another shutdown on February 15.

Trump made a border wall one of his central 2016 campaign promises, saying it is needed to curb illegal immigration, drug trafficking and other crimes. Democrats, who assumed control of the House last month from Trump's fellow Republicans, have called a wall ineffective, expensive and immoral.

Democrats generally push for less use of detention, arguing it is much cheaper to release some immigrants but require restrictions on them such as wearing ankle bracelets that track their location. Republicans want to increase the number of beds in detention facilities to enable holding more people to speed up and expand deportations.

Trump, who has sought to crack down on illegal and legal immigration and has called the situation at the border a national security crisis, deployed 3,750 more US troops there this month.

Rebuking Trump, California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, said he would pull hundreds of the state's National Guard troops from the border.

"The border 'emergency' is nothing more than a manufactured crisis - and CA's National Guard will not be part of this political theatre," Newsom wrote on Twitter.

New Mexico's Democratic governor made a similar move last week.

The top four Democratic and Republican congressional negotiators on border security funding resumed talks on Monday, with the possibility of another partial US government shutdown looming if they fail to reach a deal by a Friday deadline.

The top four Democratic and Republican congressional negotiators on border security funding resumed talks on Monday, with the possibility of another partial US government shutdown looming if they fail to reach a deal by a Friday deadline. The talks, which had broken down over the weekend, restarted in the US Capitol just hours before a scheduled rally in the Texas border city of El Paso, where President Donald Trump will promote his promised wall along the US-Mexico border, a proposal opposed by Democrats. An anti-wall protest will greet the Republican president, led by hometown Democrat Beto O'Rourke, the former congressman who is considering running for his party's 2020 presidential nomination after gaining national prominence last year by nearly upsetting Republican Ted Cruz in a US Senate race in Texas. In Washington, the lawmakers hope to reach an agreement on Monday to allow time for the legislation to pass the House of Representatives and Senate and get Trump's signature by Friday, when funding is due to expire for the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and several other federal agencies. Trump, who in December said he would be "proud" to shut the federal government over border security, took a different tack on Monday. "It's up to the Democrats," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked whether the government was headed toward its second shutdown of the winter. The talks stumbled over the weekend over funding for physical barriers along the border and a Democratic proposal to reduce allotted spaces in immigration detention facilities for people facing deportation. Democrats oppose the Trump administration expanding its capacity to hold more people arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for eventual deportation. The White House and the top Republican in Congress on Monday blasted the Democratic plan, which calls for lowering an existing cap on beds at the detention facilities to 35,520 from the current 40,520 in return for giving Republicans some of the money they want for physical border barriers. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the proposal a "poison pill" introduced into the talks by the Democrats, saying it would result in the release of thousands of illegal immigrants. 'CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC' House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, a Democrat who heads the House-Senate negotiating committee, expressed hope for a deal as she headed into the meeting. The House Appropriations Committee's top Republican, Kay Granger, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, a Republican, and that panel's top Democrat, Patrick Leahy, attended the talks, which lasted a little over an hour. Granger said some progress was made and the four would meet again later in the evening. "We had a good discussion. It’s like all negotiations go. We put out what we want, what they want, we didn’t finish, we will be meeting again today," she said. Trump's December demand for $5.7 billion to help construct a border wall triggered a 35-day partial government shutdown that ended last month without him getting wall funding. Trump agreed to reopen the government for three weeks to allow congressional negotiators time to find a compromise on government funding for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on September 30, to avert another shutdown on February 15. Trump made a border wall one of his central 2016 campaign promises, saying it is needed to curb illegal immigration, drug trafficking and other crimes. Democrats, who assumed control of the House last month from Trump's fellow Republicans, have called a wall ineffective, expensive and immoral. Democrats generally push for less use of detention, arguing it is much cheaper to release some immigrants but require restrictions on them such as wearing ankle bracelets that track their location. Republicans want to increase the number of beds in detention facilities to enable holding more people to speed up and expand deportations. Trump, who has sought to crack down on illegal and legal immigration and has called the situation at the border a national security crisis, deployed 3,750 more US troops there this month. Rebuking Trump, California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, said he would pull hundreds of the state's National Guard troops from the border. "The border 'emergency' is nothing more than a manufactured crisis - and CA's National Guard will not be part of this political theatre," Newsom wrote on Twitter. New Mexico's Democratic governor made a similar move last week.

US lawmakers meet on border security, scrambling to avert shutdown

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

The Republican-controlled US Congress on Thursday passed a short-term funding bill to keep the federal government running for four more weeks, averting a looming shutdown.

Members of the House of voted 231-188 for the bill and the Senate followed with a 66 to 32 vote.

The temporary funding extension,&nbsp;which lasts until January 19, gives more time to lawmakers from both parties to reach an agreement on funding for the remainder of the 2018 fiscal year, which ends September 30.&nbsp;

Opposition Democrats had the numbers to block the Republican bill in the Senate, giving them the ability leverage concessions from the majority party on policy priorities.

Some Democratic senators opposed the measure because it did not address the fate of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who came to the United States as children, whose status has been thrown into doubt by President Donald Trump.

In the House, some Republicans had threatened to vote &quot;no&quot; on the temporary funding bill because it does not fund the Department of Defense for the entire year.&nbsp;

Earlier in the day, Trump accused Democrats of trying to block the bill in order to close down the federal government -- something that did not in the end occur.

&quot;House Democrats want a SHUTDOWN for the holidays in order to distract from the very popular, just passed, Tax Cuts. House Republicans, don&#39;t let this happen,&quot; he tweeted. &quot;Pass the (bill) TODAY and keep our Government OPEN!&quot;&nbsp;

The House also approved $81 billion in funding on Thursday for states and territories devastated by hurricanes and wildfires this summer and fall.

Members of the House of voted 231-188 for the bill and the Senate followed with a 66 to 32 vote

The Republican-controlled US Congress on Thursday passed a short-term funding bill to keep the federal government running for four more weeks, averting a looming shutdown. Members of the House of voted 231-188 for the bill and the Senate followed with a 66 to 32 vote. The temporary funding extension, which lasts until January 19, gives more time to lawmakers from both parties to reach an agreement on funding for the remainder of the 2018 fiscal year, which ends September 30. Opposition Democrats had the numbers to block the Republican bill in the Senate, giving them the ability leverage concessions from the majority party on policy priorities. Some Democratic senators opposed the measure because it did not address the fate of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who came to the United States as children, whose status has been thrown into doubt by President Donald Trump. In the House, some Republicans had threatened to vote "no" on the temporary funding bill because it does not fund the Department of Defense for the entire year. Earlier in the day, Trump accused Democrats of trying to block the bill in order to close down the federal government -- something that did not in the end occur. "House Democrats want a SHUTDOWN for the holidays in order to distract from the very popular, just passed, Tax Cuts. House Republicans, don't let this happen," he tweeted. "Pass the (bill) TODAY and keep our Government OPEN!" The House also approved $81 billion in funding on Thursday for states and territories devastated by hurricanes and wildfires this summer and fall.

US Congress approves short-term budget to avoid shutdown

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

US lawmakers meet on border security, scrambling to avert shutdown

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

US Congress approves short-term budget to avoid shutdown