New Delhi: From time to time, the US government faces a complete shutdown of its essential services. Since 1976, the US federal government has faced a shutdown 17 times. The last one occurred when Bill Clinton was in office in 1996. Now, 17 years down the line, the US is going through that crisis all over again. But what does a US shutdown mean? The 2013 US Government Shutdown refers to the temporary suspension of non-essential civil services as a result of a congressional stalemate between the Democrat and Republican legislators over the implementation of Obamacare. The closure began at 12:00 a.m. on October 1st, 2013, the deadline for the passage of the 2014 US federal budget, and ended with the passage of a bipartisan compromise bill just after midnight on October 17th. Government agencies were ordered by The White House to start shutting down after House Republicans refused to pass a budget unless there was a delay to Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law. In a shutdown, national parks close, most routine food inspections are suspended, paperwork slows at government offices and many federal employees are furloughed. Only emergency and essential items are able to operate, as a result of which lakhs of government employees shall not receive their salary for the shutdown duration. As US Congress was drafting 2014 fiscal year's budget, differences emerged between the Republicans and the Democrats over ‘Affordable Care Act' or commonly known as ‘Obamacare', the flagship healthcare programme of President Barack Obama. In USA, a financial year commences from October and ends with September. Due the differences over Obama care, the two parties were unable to reach a consensus over the spending and budget of 2014 fiscal year. While, the incumbent Democrats staunchly support the ‘Affordable Care Act', the opposition Republicans have waged a jihad to oppose the healthcare package. ObamaCare is the unofficial name for The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which was signed into law on March 23, 2010. The Act includes a number of reform measures such as setting up a Health Insurance Marketplace where Americans can purchase Federally regulated and subsidized health insurance. The House of Representatives, controlled by Republicans, has fervently opposed the discretionary spending as budgeted by Democrats-controlled Senate. Such a situation can arise in a federal form of government alone because of the political doctrine ‘separation of powers'. Now, any legislation requires an agreement between both the House and Senate with a two-thirds majority in each chamber and President's approval. In case of Obamacare, Congress has failed to pass a budget and, as a result, much of US Government has shut down until Congress funds it again. This is possible only when Republican led House of Representatives gives its nod to the discretionary spending associated with the Healthcare package. During the shutdown essential services will continued. About 800,000 of about 2.1 million federal employees were sent home without pay. The Environmental Protection Agency, NASA and other agencies closed most operations. The military and other agencies involving safety and security continued to function. During the 1995-1996 shutdowns, all employees who had been furloughed were paid retroactively.
