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In U.S. politics, a government shutdown is the name for the process the Executive Branch must enter into when the Congress creates a "funding gap" by choosing not to or failing to pass legislation funding government operations and agencies. If interim or full-year appropriations are not enacted into law, the United States Constitution and the Antideficiency Act require the federal government begins a "shutdown" of the affected activities. If the funding gap lasts long enough that shutdown plans must be enacted, the law requires the furlough of non-essential personnel and curtailment of agency activities and services. Programs that are funded by laws other than annual appropriations acts (like Social Security) also may be affected by a funding gap, if program execution relies on activities that receive annually appropriated funding. Although the term government shutdown usually refers to what occurs at the federal level, shutdowns have also occurred at the state/territorial and local levels of government. During Gerald Ford's presidency, one funding gap occurred, lasting 10 days. Under the Carter administrations, funding gaps caused 5 partial shutdowns that affected only the departments of Labor and Health, Education, and Welfare. These lasted from 8 to 18 days and the primary issue of dispute was federal funding for abortion. During the Reagan administration, there were funding gaps with technical shutdowns lasting less than 48 hours or over weekends while spending measures were negotiated rendering them to be of negligible effect. A funding gap during the George H. W. Bush administration also caused a weekend shutdown, resolved late the following Monday. During the Clinton administration, there were two full government shutdowns during 1995 and 1996 lasting 5 and 21 days respectively, both the longest and most severe to that date. These shutdowns led to massive furloughs and significant disruption. The primary issue was the United States budget deficit. During Barack Obama's presidency, the United States federal government shutdown of 2013 ran from October 1 to 16, 2013. The primary issue of dispute between the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic Senate was the Republicans' desire to delay or defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), signed into law in 2010.〔 A bill to end the shutdown and fund federal agencies through January 15, 2014, passed the Senate and the House and was signed into law on October 17, 2013. Standard & Poor's, the financial ratings agency, stated on October 16 that the shutdown "to date has taken $24 billion out of the economy," and "shaved at least 0.6 percent off annualized fourth-quarter 2013 GDP growth." == Mechanism of a shutdown == Under the separation of powers created by the United States Constitution, the United States Congress has the sole power of the purse and responsibility for appropriating government funds. The appropriations bills must start in the House of Representatives and then be approved by the Senate, which upon passage of a final version by both houses then go to the President of the United States. If the President signs or ignores the bills, they become law. If the President vetoes the bills, they go back to Congress, where the veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote. Government shutdowns tend to occur when the President and one or both of the chambers of Congress are unable to resolve disagreements over budget allocations before the existing budget cycle ends. Following the first shutdown, many federal agencies continued to operate during a shutdown, while minimizing all nonessential operations and obligations, believing that Congress did not intend that agencies close down while waiting for the enactment of annual appropriations acts or temporary appropriations. In 1980 and 1981, however, Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued two opinions that more strictly interpreted the Antideficiency Act in the context of a funding gap, along with its exceptions. The opinions stated that, with some exceptions, the head of an agency could avoid violating the Act only by suspending the agency’s operations until the enactment of an appropriation. In the absence of appropriations, exceptions would be allowed only when there is some reasonable and articulable connection between the function to be performed and the safety of human life or the protection of property.〔 Shutdowns of the type experienced by the United States are nearly impossible in other democracies. Under the parliamentary system used in most European nations, the executive and legislative branch are not separate, with the parliament designating all executive officials, typically called "ministers". In many other non-parliamentary democracies, a strong executive branch typically has the authority to keep the government functioning even without an approved budget. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Government shutdown in the United States」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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