- The deadline to avoid a government shutdown is fast approaching.
- The federal government has entered a shutdown 17 times since the modern budgeting process began.
- Most of those times the shutdown has been short and not involved employees being sent home, but that has changed in recent shutdowns.
With the Senate at an impasse the partial shutdown of the federal government is now into its third day.
This is 18th time since the modern budget process began with the Budget Act of 1974 that the federal government has entered a shutdown.
On average, the 17 previous shutdowns lasted just under 7 days, though they have been longer in recent decades. The four shutdowns since 1990 have lasted slightly under 11 days on average. The longest shutdown in history, lasting 21 days, came in 1995-1996.
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Most of these shutdown weren't severe, with 10 of the 17 lasting five days or fewer, and eight lasting three days or fewer. By making it to day 3, the current shutdown is now tied for the 10th longest of the modern era.
While the current shutdown is short in length, it also bear one big difference. Most of these shutdowns did not affect federal employees. Many federal employees are now on furlough, meaning they do not report to work or get paid. In 10 of the previous shutdowns, employees were not placed on furlough.
Sending employees home has become more frequent in recent shutdowns, with furlough occurring during each of the last four shutdowns and six of the last seven.
Unique to the possible shutdown on Friday is the fact that there has never been a shutdown during which employees were placed on furlough while one party controlled both chambers of Congress and White House.
Republicans point out that no bill cna pass the Senate without Democratic support, which is true. But. a handful of Republicans also voted against the measure to fund the government on Friday, making the argument more complicated.
Here's a breakdown of all the previous shutdowns: