Here's what happened in Indiana during the last government shutdown

Brittany Carloni, Indianapolis Star
Updated ·3 min read
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All eyes are on Congress this week as lawmakers approach a potential federal government shutdown, which would be the first since the 34-day shutdown that started in late 2018 under former President Donald Trump.

Members of Congress have until Sept. 30 to pass legislation to keep federal agencies funded. So far, zero appropriations bills have passed both houses of Congress to fund government agencies beyond Oct. 1, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The 2018-2019 partial government shutdown resulted from disagreements about funding for border security and Trump’s request for a wall at the southern border. It started in December 2018, just days before Christmas, and lasted until late January 2019.

Here are four things that happened in Indiana during the last government shutdown.

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Mike Braun wants to withhold pay in Congress

Fresh off defeating Indiana's former Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly in the highly contested 2018 election, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun was sworn in. He then kicked off his career in Washington D.C. with a bill aimed at stopping pay for members of Congress during a government shutdown.

Braun introduced the “No Budget, No Pay Act” along with Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on Jan. 8, 2019. The bill had bipartisan support but never moved past its introduction in the Senate.

Vice President Mike Pence administers the Senate oath of office to Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., accompanied by his wife Maureen during a mock swearing in ceremony in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, as the 116th Congress begins. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Vice President Mike Pence administers the Senate oath of office to Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., accompanied by his wife Maureen during a mock swearing in ceremony in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, as the 116th Congress begins. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

From 2019: Mike Braun's first U.S. Senate bill would prevent Congress from being paid during government shutdowns

"There are consequences for unfinished work in the business world, and considering it’s Congress’s job to pass budgets and spending bills, it’s time we hold Washington to the same standard," Braun said in a statement to IndyStar at the time.

In January and February of this year, Braun introduced two similar bills with the same purpose as his 2019 proposal. Both have been introduced in the Senate.

Federal Indiana offices closed

According to a 2018 story from the Associated Press, the partial shutdown that started in December closed offices of environmental federal government agencies in southern Indiana.

The U.S. Forest Service closed offices in Bedford and Tell City, part of the Hoosier National Forest. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Bloomington office was closed as well as the Seymour office and visitor’s center for the Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge.

People could still enter federal government properties during the shutdown, but according to the Associated Press story, the Muscatatuck website warned to come “at the visitor’s sole risk.”

The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore — which became the nation's 61st national park in February 2019 — was open but not staffed during the 2018 shut down.

A January 2019 IndyStar story also reported that the Farm Service Agency, which offers financial support to farmers, had been closed.

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Many Indiana federal employees went without paychecks

A January 2019 IndyStar story reported how Indiana's federal workers grappled with the record-setting government shutdown. Because employees did not receive paychecks during the shutdown, some turned to food pantries and loans to get through the 34 days before then President Trump signed a measure to reopen the government.

Some organizations stepped up to help. Gleaners Food Bank and Old Bethel United Methodist Church were part of an effort in January 2019 to provide a pop-up food pantry for Indianapolis TSA officers at the Indianapolis Airport, according to the IndyStar story.

Community volunteers from Old Bethel UMC hand out Gleaners Food Bank boxes to TSA employees affected by the government shutdown at the Transportation Security Administration offices, 8303 W Southern Ave., Indianapolis, on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019.
Community volunteers from Old Bethel UMC hand out Gleaners Food Bank boxes to TSA employees affected by the government shutdown at the Transportation Security Administration offices, 8303 W Southern Ave., Indianapolis, on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019.

Indy-area businesses, organizations offered discounts

From free admission at museums to free meals to free Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra tickets, several businesses and organizations around Indianapolis stepped up to offer discounts and services to federal workers during what became the longest-ever government shutdown.

Some of those groups included the Indianapolis Zoo, Conner Prairie and the Harlem Globetrotters.

Contact IndyStar's state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: This is what happened in Indiana during the 2018-2019 government shutdown