16 Government Shutdowns Throughout American History

16 Government Shutdowns Throughout American History

Trista - January 26, 2019

16 Government Shutdowns Throughout American History
Jimmy Carter in Atlanta after announcing his candidacy for governor of Georgia in 1970. In the background, his wife, Rosalynn, holds their 2-year-old daughter Amy. Politico/ AP.

10. The Last Government Shutdown Under The Jimmy Carter Administration

One of the reasons the Carter administration dealt with so many government shutdowns was because no one could agree on funding for abortion. Just like several of the government shutdowns during Carter’s time in office, this shutdown happened because of disagreements when it came to abortion. This shutdown started around October 1, 1979, and went on until about October 12th, which came to eleven days in total. During this time, Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate, but this didn’t mean they wanted the same things.

The House wanted higher senior civil servant and congressional pay by 5.5%, however the Senate didn’t like this idea. They tried to keep funding for rape and incest victims while the House didn’t care for that idea. Because the two sides couldn’t agree before the deadline, the government went into a partial shutdown. They then spent the next eleven days coming to an agreement. The House decided they would approve the funding for cases of rape and the Senate agreed to the higher pay.

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