Introduction
In order for the federal government to have the money it needs to function, congress must approve funding bills each year. Earlier this year, democrats and republicans in congress disagreed over a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which overseas agencies like FEMA and TSA, as well as ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). After the deaths of two civilians by ICE agents in January, 2026, Senate Democrats refused to support a bill to fund DHS without restrictions on ICE’s tactics. When Congress fails to agree on funding legislation, nonessential government offices are closed and essential government workers are forced to work without pay. This partial closure of the government is called a government shutdown and in the past, we’ve seen shutdowns affect the whole federal government. On February 14, 2026 a partial government shutdown began, affecting only the Department of Homeland Security.
A4SC Resources
The below resources include relevant videos and lesson plans from our content library that will help contextualize this current event within broader, more enduring, concepts.
Budget Reconciliation – This video explains the budget reconciliation process which is how the U.S. Congress typically passes a budget for the fiscal year. If the Congress successfully completed budget reconciliation, the government shutdown would not have occurred.
Senate: The Upper House of the Legislature – This video provides an overview of the United States Senate. The Senate has to approve any budget created by the House of Representatives before it can be enacted.
House of Representatives: The Lower House of the Legislature – This video provides an overview of the House of Representatives. The House has “the power of the purse” meaning that all budgets are written by members of the House.
Department of Homeland Security: You Can Keep Your Shoes On – This video provides an overview of the Department of Homeland Security. The mission of the DHS is to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., to reduce the country’s vulnerability to terrorism, to minimize the damage and aid in recovery from any attacks that occur, to manage crises and engage in emergency planning, and to monitor illegal drug trafficking and attempt to stop it.
Discussion Questions
- What is the difference between “essential” and “nonessential” government services? Who do you think gets to decide which is which, and why is that important?
- What makes compromise difficult when two sides have strongly held beliefs? Is there ever a situation where refusing to compromise is the right choice?
- If you were an essential government worker required to work without pay, what would you want your fellow citizens to understand about your situation?
Activity
Divide the class into two groups (governing party and opposition party), choose team leaders and provide each group with five policy priorities (ex. increase defense spending, healthcare tax cut). Priorities are included in the budget if the opposing group accepts the priority with a majority vote. Once five priorities are accepted, both team leaders can agree or disagree to a class wide vote. If one team manages to include at least three priorities in a budget and the opposing team has fewer priorities in that budget, the team with three priorities wins. If both teams pass a budget with equal number of priorities, it’s a draw. If the teams fail to pass a budget, both teams lose and the government shuts down.
Additional Resources
- Antideficiency Act (law that dictates what is allowed during a shutdown)
- Schladebek, Jessica. “Nearly 3 million New Yorkers face losing SNAP benefits in November” New York Daily News, 25 October 2025
https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/10/25/ny-snap-benefits-stopping-government-shutdown/ - Hubbard, Kaia. “Government shutdown hits 4-week mark as Senate fails to advance GOP funding bill for 13th time”
CBS News, 28 October 2025
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/government-shutdown-latest-senate-republicans-vance/ - Hsu, Andrea. “Judge indefinitely halts shutdown layoffs noting human toll”
NPR, 29 October 2025
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/nx-s1-5585083/government-shutdown-trump-rif-layoffs
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