Olivia Amplified
Starting October 1st, the government shutdown.
What does that mean?
The government or Congress in this case appropriates funds for all the government spending. For example, I work for the Department of Justice and currently all of the employees are not being paid. This is the same for all other Departments. Think of the Department of Education, Agriculture, Housing, Defense, and the list goes on. Now, the reason for this is that Congress and the President cannot agree on a budget or short-term funding measure (called a continuing resolution). This results in the government running out of legal authority to spend money, and many federal operations partially or fully close. Right now, the shutdown stems from disagreements over key appropriations priorities such as how federal funds should be distributed among programs like defense, health care, immigration enforcement, and social services.
Congress must pass new appropriations bills to fund government agencies and programs for the next fiscal year, which always end on September 30th. Parties are typically placing a political gridlock so that hopefully some members begin to agree with the rest.
This is currently not happening!
Appropriations debates reflect deep partisan divides about government spending and national priorities. This party debate is really focused on health care. Democrats are emphasizing the importance of protecting and expanding access to affordable health care, which is a cornerstone of their platform. They often push to fund programs like Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, and community health centers. The Affordable Care Act, informally known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute that was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.
There are 24 million people who buy insurance on the ACA marketplaces who face a much higher increase (around 30%) next year because Congress cannot agree on an appropriation that would keep this price lower.
We are now on Day 30 of the government shutdown. How long is the record? 35 days… But don’t worry, we have already broken the record for the second-longest shutdown of 21 days. Who holds the record for the longest shutdown, you ask, President Donald Trump in 2018. Now in his second term, it is looking like he may even break this previous record. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the last federal shutdown, in 2018 (35 days) delivered a $3 billion long-term hit to the economy.
Unfortunately, our government is still playing the blame game. Who is to blame for the shutdown? Both parties are blaming eachother as we can see by the public shaming on government official websites and most recently, Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, being broadcast on airport televisions.
Now also unfortunately, passing the two-week mark of a government shutdown is when the effects are really prevalent. One of the first signs was the air traffic controllers not being present for their work, leading to flight cancellations. Now, TSA employees are calling in “sick” more frequently. As we start to head into the holidays, this will be a disaster. As someone planning to travel for Thanksgiving, I am already planning ahead to arrive at the airport just a little bit earlier than my typically 45-minute leeway. Thank goodness for TSA pre-check, although I’m not sure this would even help!
Now what’s it like working as a government employee during a shutdown? Well, now that is the interesting part. This is my first job upon graduating from university, so I am really just lucky to be here, given the horrifying and discouraging job market at the moment. I feel fortunate to even have a job. And thankfully, the funding for my role is not through Congress so I am being paid due to contracted funds. Unfortunately, for the most of the rest of my office and those who are affected by the congressional funds, the morale is low and the work is never-ending. The work and caseload do not stop even though the government is shutdown.
So every night as I am preparing to head to sleep, I check the news. The most outrageous part of this shutdown is the lack of public attention this is receiving. Right now in the United States and the rest of the world, there are plenty of other newsworthy matters. To name a few, the “ceasefire” in Gaza, Trump’s campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize, the Super Bowl performer uproar, and Turning Point USA’s alternative Super Bowl (don’t worry I will be blogging about this soon), and so on! It seems like this shutdown is the last thing on people’s minds.
Unfortunately, this is only going to get worse. As of Tuesday, a collective of 22 states and several state leaders have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Agriculture and others due to SNAP benefits ending tomorrow at midnight. For those who do not know, this will affect over 42 million Americans. Starting tonight, SNAP, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, will run out of money. And coincidentally, this case was brought to the District of Massachusetts, so I was able to witness the court proceeding today. In a letter dated Oct. 10, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) told state agencies to hold off distributing November benefits "until further notice" because of insufficient funds. The agency states that these contingency funds are "not legally available" to extend regular benefits and are meant only for other emergency events. What the court needs to decide is if they can use these funds to appropriate the SNAP benefits until the shutdown ends and Congress approves overall funding. Without this, low-income households will not be able to to buy food and support themselves.
I can only hope that the shutdown ends soon.
With gratitude,
Olivia
