The law exempts many types of work from a shutdown, Mulvaney notes.
"Federal work related to health, safety and 'protection of property,' for example, is 'excepted' and can continue during a shutdown. So can work related to the legislative process and diplomacy. The military can still 'contract for necessary clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, transportation or medical and hospital supplies.' Tax refunds are still processed.
"Oh, and despite what some politicians might have you believe, Social Security payments can still go out."
Mulvaney knows what he's talking about. Not only did he serve three terms in the House, but he also ran the Office of Management and Budget, which oversees government shutdowns, from 2017 to 2020.
Mulvaney discusses some recent shutdowns to point out that different administrations can interpret and apply a shutdown in different ways, depending on which side the White House thinks the public will blame.
If they go on long enough, shutdowns can "create real hardship for federal workers who live paycheck-to-paycheck," Mulvaney writes.
"But they aren't what most people probably think of when they hear the word 'shutdown.' Or at least, they don't need to be."
Read the op-ed at TheHill.com.
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