The government shutdown is now the longest in history, but what does that mean for America?
Written By Meghan Miglorie & Markus Bontempo
News
Many Americans are unsettled by the Government shutdown that began on October 1st of this year. This was a direct result of a partisan failure to resolve a clashing budget deadlock among lawmakers. This has left up to 750,000 employees on an unpaid leave of absence.
This shutdown has affected 3 large groups that make up government affiliated funding. Discretionary Programs, Mandatory Programs, as well as Federal employers and employees.
The American Administration has a limited choice in what is funded at this time. All funding for varying government programs and agencies is decided by President Donald Trump, essentially picking and choosing what is important for public safety and national security.
These programs include military operations, emergency services, and highway funding. The authorization however for State and local Cybersecurity Grant Programs expired at the time of the Government shutdown.
The Department of Health and Human Services have taken the heaviest impact from this month-long shutdown.
Mandatory program funding such as those for Children’s Health Insurance have been restricted since the shutdown, which is understandably frustrating. Authorizations for community health centers and Temporary Assistance for families in need expired on September 30th. New funding is unavailable for these programs at this time, and it is unknown if there will be in the foreseeable future.
Medicare regarding Telehealth and Acute Care Hospital expired in funding in September as well, leaving many Americans without insurance.
Other programs affected by the shutdown include; the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of energy conservation, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Protection Agencies.
The duration of this shutdown period is unknown, no remarks have come forth in regards to reopening funding concerning Health and government Services. Some program funding is still under operation, such as Social Security and Veterans benefits, however this is for a period of time as most programs have been shut down temporarily.
The main conflict of this decision of shutdown is how many lives it has affected. There are an estimated 900,000 federal workers unemployed and 2 million without pay until further notice.