We’ve had numerous federal shutdowns in Washington. Can anyone remember any of them other than the one in December 1995, when Speaker Newt Gingrich was locked in a battle with Bill Clinton? Here’s the list of prior shutdowns:
- September 30 to October 11, 1976 (10 days)
- September 30 to October 13, 1977 (12 days)
- October 31 to November 9, 1977 (8 days)
- November 30 to December 9, 1977 (8 days)
- September 30 to October 18, 1978 (18 days
- September 30 to October 12, 1979 (11 days)
- November 20 to November 23, 1981 (2 days)
- September 30 to October 2, 1982 (1 day)
- December 17 to December 21, 1982 (3 days)
- November 10 to November 14, 1983 (3 days)
- September 30 to October 3, 1984 (2 days)
- October 3 to October 5, 1984 (1 day)
- October 16 to October 18, 1986 (1 day)
- December 18 to December 20, 1987 (1 day)
- October 5 to October 9, 1990 (3 days)
- November 13 to November 19, 1995 (5 days)
- December 5, 1995 to January 6, 1996 (21 days)
That’s quite a few shutdowns, without any major problems that anyone can recall. It’s likely if this looming shutdown happens it will be short lived. Currently the Congress is on a path to pass the continuing resolution this weekend, funding the government through December 15th. More here and here. Then we can focus on the next looming shutdown on October 17th when we hit the debt ceiling. Much ado about nothing.
