It’s looking more and more likely that the U.S. government will shut down on Oct. 1. If it lasts more than a few days, it’s going to be a real problem in the United States. But how will it affect Peace Corps volunteers and employees outside the USA? Most likely, very little.
To begin with, what is a U.S. government shutdown? That’s what happens with the president and Congress can’t agree on a budget. Back in 1980, at the end of the Carter administration, Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti gave a legal opinion that if they couldn’t agree on a budget, nonessential employees of the federal government would need to be furloughed. If you have a job that’s essential to public safety, you’re supposed to keep working without pay, and you end up getting paid later. If your job isn’t essential — pretty much anything that shuts down on weekends and holidays — you don’t work. Those employees have historically been paid later anyway, but there’s no guarantee that will happen.
There were eight shutdowns during the Reagan administration and one during George H.W. Bush’s administration, but none of them lasted longer than three days. That’s a real inconvenience for some people. If you’re trying to apply for Social Security benefits or something, the government employees aren’t available to help you. And when they get back to work, they’re facing a backlog, so things might not get back to normal for some time after. But ultimately, a three-day shutdown is no big deal.
During the Clinton administration, things got more serious. There was a five-day shutdown that began Nov. 13, 1995. Congress then passed a one-month “continuing resolution,” a stopgap funding measure, and Clinton signed it, but they couldn’t agree to a long-term budget again, and a new shutdown started on Dec. 15, 1995. This one lasted 21 days.
There were also a 16-day shutdown under the Obama administration and two under the Trump administration. One lasted two days, but a 34-day shutdown that began Dec. 21, 2018, was a big disruption.
However, it wasn’t a big deal for the Peace Corps volunteers serving at the time. From what people serving back then told me, it was barely noticeable.
As it turns out, the Peace Corps is funded two years at a time, so it can continue its overseas operations without interruption unless a shutdown is really long. (For those interested, here’s the full plan.) Also, there is enough money available to continue sending new volunteers out for some time. If a shutdown drags on for a crazy long time, they might have to stop sending new volunteers out, but I doubt Congress will let that happen because of the political implications of a long shutdown.
I don’t want to minimize the pain this will cause to Peace Corps employees in Washington; most of them will be furloughed. If this lasts for weeks, it will be a severe economic hardship for many of them. It will also be a big problem for invitees who are working on passing medical clearance and other bureaucratic issues.
But if this is anything like the 34-day shutdown that began at the end of 2018, it will have a minimal effect on Peace Corps volunteers and trainees currently in their countries of service.