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# Government shutdown 2011
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/government_shutdown_2011_0408111031/
- Published: 2011-04-08T23:31:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:17:11.000Z
- Description: Americans searched heavily for shutdown news as the White House and Congress negotiated the 2011 budget into Friday night; a shutdown would have idled 800,000 federal workers. An update notes that Boehner announced a short-term deal that avoided it.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Miscellaneous, Health News, #vivvo-import

by Aimee Keenan-Greene

Americans spent a good part of the day searching for information on the impending government shutdown, according to Google Trends.

[The Washington Post ](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/washington-readies-for-a-government-shutdown/2011/04/08/AFH4rW4C%5Fstory.html?ref=foodconsumer.org)says the White House and Congress engaged in last-minute negotiations over the 2011 budget late into Friday night.

If no agreement is reached, a shutdown could begin early Saturday in Washington.

That's because, according to the [NY Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/us/politics/07shutdown.html?ref=foodconsumer.org), the rule is that federal agencies cannot operate without spending authority provided by Congress. That authority expires Friday night for most federal agencies. Federal employees can continue work to safeguard human life, to protect federal property or to shut down government functions in an orderly way. A shutdown could idle 800,000 of the 1.9 million civilian federal workers. 

If the [government shuts down](http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/04/government-shutdown-2011-if-it-happens-it-would-be-18th-shutdown-ever.html?ref=foodconsumer.org) at midnight, it would be the 18th time it will have happened ever.

Click here for more on the [trending news of the government shutdown](http://www.google.com/nwshp?oe=utf8&ie=utf8&source=uds&q=government+shutdown+2011&hl=en&start=0), and what services will be affected.

**Recent development**

**Government shutdown avoided**  
by Aimee Keenan-Greene

With just an hour to go, House Majority Leader John Boehner just announced there's a short-term deal between Congress and President Obama to avoid a shutdown and keep the government open, according to the Associated Press and major televisions outlets that carried his press conference live.

Americans spent a good part of the day searching for information on the potential government shutdown, according to Google Trends.

[The Washington Post ](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/washington-readies-for-a-government-shutdown/2011/04/08/AFH4rW4C%5Fstory.html?ref=foodconsumer.org)says the White House and Congress engaged in last-minute negotiations over the 2011 budget late into Friday night.

If no agreement were reached, a shutdown would have begun early Saturday in Washington.

That's because, according to the [NY Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/us/politics/07shutdown.html?ref=foodconsumer.org), the rule is that federal agencies cannot operate without spending authority provided by Congress. That authority expires Friday night for most federal agencies. Federal employees can continue work to safeguard human life, to protect federal property or to shut down government functions in an orderly way. A shutdown could idle 800,000 of the 1.9 million civilian federal workers. 

If the [government shut down](http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/04/government-shutdown-2011-if-it-happens-it-would-be-18th-shutdown-ever.html?ref=foodconsumer.org) it would have been the 18th time it had happened.

Click here for more on the [trending news of the deal to avoid a government shutdown](http://www.google.com/nwshp?oe=utf8&ie=utf8&source=uds&q=government+shutdown+2011&hl=en&start=0).