Government shutdown FAQ

As of Oct 2, 2026, no government-wide funding lapse was recorded. Congress enacted a continuing resolution that funds federal agencies through December 11, 2026. Office closures for weather, local emergencies, or one agency’s plan are not the same as a government-wide funding lapse.

Our Oct 2, 2026 review recorded a continuing-resolution deadline of December 11, 2026. Congress must enact full-year appropriations or another temporary measure before then to avoid a new lapse.

A continuing resolution, or CR, is temporary funding legislation. It keeps agencies operating—usually at prior-year rates—when Congress has not finished the regular annual appropriations bills.

No. A shutdown is a lapse in some annual appropriations. Work can continue when it is excepted by law, supported by another funding source, or assigned to an agency whose bill has already been enacted. That is why a partial shutdown can look very different from a government-wide lapse.

Scheduled Social Security, SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid payments generally continue because their benefit authority does not depend only on the annual bills that lapse. SNAP and WIC are more time-sensitive and depend on available funds, the length of the lapse, and state administration. Check the specific program guide rather than a headline.

Pay can be delayed while appropriations are unavailable. After a covered lapse ends, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 requires retroactive pay for affected federal employees. Contractor employees do not have that automatic statutory protection.

Commercial airports do not generally close because of a funding lapse. TSA screening and FAA air traffic control are usually excepted functions. Staffing pressure during a long unpaid stretch can still cause delays.

No. Government Shutdown Tracker is an independent, nonpartisan publication. It is not a federal agency, and it cannot access benefit, payroll, tax, or case records. Official instructions come from the responsible agency’s .gov site.

A shutdown is a lapse in appropriations: Congress has not provided legal authority to spend for some activities. Hitting the debt limit without raising or suspending it is a separate problem about paying obligations that Congress has already incurred. The two can overlap in time, but they are not the same legal event.

The House and Senate must pass the same funding text, and the President must sign it, allow it to become law without a signature, or Congress must override a veto. Agencies then recall staff and restore operations under the new law.

Only if Congress does not act. The current continuing resolution expires after December 11, 2026. To avoid a lapse, Congress must enact the remaining FY2027 appropriations bills, another continuing resolution, or a combination. If only some bills are finished, the agencies covered by the unfinished bills could face a partial shutdown. Follow the appropriations tracker for each bill’s status.

The longest government-wide shutdown ran from October 1 to November 12, 2025: 43 calendar days, or 42 full days by the Congressional Research Service count. The longest lapse for a single department was the 2026 Department of Homeland Security shutdown, which the House historian counts as 76 days (February 14–April 30, 2026).

Furloughed federal employees can generally apply for Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees through their state workforce agency. Because federal law requires retroactive pay after a lapse, benefits received usually must be repaid once back pay arrives. Excepted employees who are working without pay generally do not qualify.

November 2025 SNAP benefits were not issued on schedule. USDA said its contingency fund could not cover a full month, federal courts ordered partial payments from that fund, and full benefits resumed the week of November 17 after the law ending the shutdown provided full-year Agriculture funding.