The Origins of the Government Shutdown

Russell Berman: “Government shutdowns are a relatively modern phenomenon. For most of America’s nearly 250-year history, a lapse in congressional appropriations forced federal agencies to limit their spending, but not to close entirely. That changed only under Carter. In 1980, his attorney general, Benjamin Civiletti, wrote a memo in which he argued that according to federal law, the government could not operate once funding bills expired.”

“The era of shutdowns had begun, and from that point on, legislative impasses over spending have put hundreds of thousands of federal employees out of work and reduced government services for millions more.”