The Last Government Shutdown Was The Longest In More Than 40 Years. Here Are All The Recent Shutdowns In One Chart

By Gillian Roberts and Kaanita Iyer, CNN

(CNN) — Congress is barreling toward a federal government shutdown, which is set to happen if the House and Senate are not able to reach a spending deal by the time the clock strikes 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, October 1.

The last shutdown started on December 22, 2018, and went until January 25, 2019 — 35 days, making it the longest government shutdown in more than four decades. It cost the United States an estimated $3 billion in lost GDP, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Here are all the government shutdowns since 1981

US agencies were first instructed to stop normal operations during government funding lapses, until Congress appropriates more money, in the early 1980s.

While government shutdowns have become less common in recent de