Your Questions Answered on U.S. Government Shutdown: QuickTake

The U.S. government is approaching yet another possible shutdown unless Congress enacts a stopgap spending bill that carries through the start of a new fiscal year on Oct. 1. Memories remain fresh of the longest shutdown in U.S. history, lasting 35 days in late 2018 into early 2019, over President Donald Trump’s insistence on $5.7 billion for a wall on the border with Mexico.

1. Why does the government shut down?

The U.S. government runs on 12 appropriations bills passed each year by Congress and signed by the president. In fiscal years like this one, when all 12 bills ...