The last three government shutdowns cost American taxpayers around $4 billion, according to a bipartisan investigation released on Tuesday.
Released by Sens. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, and Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat, the report took a look at the costs of the federal government being fully or partially shut for 52 days over the past five years. Read the report.
Lawmakers said of the nearly $4 billion cost, at least $3.7 billion was for back pay for federal workers who were furloughed, while another $338 million was for other costs including extra administrative work and late fees on interest payments. The report also estimated 56,938 years of lost productivity for furloughed employees.
