The result of the House and Senate’s inability to agree on a bill to fund the government. This bill is necessary for the federal government to be able to operate. Sounds simple right? Agree, move on, and let our country continue the way it should. So why in the world is our government SHUT DOWN? We at Her Campus Bryant were saying the same thing. There has been 17 shutdowns in the recent years with the most recent, and longest, being in December 1995 and ending 21 days later in January 1996. So, here is the 411 to help you understand what this shutdown is, why it happened, and what it entails for the 2013 Government Shut Down.
How did this happen?
In order for our federal government to operate, it needs to be funded. The House and Senate, among many other bills, are responsible for passing 12 appropriations bills to fund the federal agencies and set spending priorities. Without these funds, our government literally cannot be funded. The House and Senate are currently at odds primarily over two issues: Obamacare and the new medical device tax. What is Obamacare? Also knowns as AKA – The Affordable Care Act will give Americans more rights and protections to affordable quality health care. It requires all Americans to have health insurance by 2014, or pay a tax penalty. To understand it better, watch this…
The House believes that such a system will harm the middle class and hopes to post-pone the implementation of this care system one year. The Senate, and the President, refused such an appeal and are choosing not to settle for a delay. As a result of their inability to agree and pass a bill for funding, the government must shut down until it has the funding to continue.
What does the shutdown entail?
The shutdown will force most federal agencies to suspend many actions, however the entire government is NOT shutting down – meaning our country is not a free for all as some Bryant students have commented on Twitter. There are around 3,000,000 government jobs which are deemed “essential”-the people which hold these jobs are still going about their daily work. Around 1,000,000 are not. Government functions that will still continue are:
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Social Security Checks, Unemployment Benefits, Food Stamps
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Veteran’s Hospitals will remain open
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U.S. Military & Embassies abroad (House & Senate passed a bill to guarantee active duty military continue to receive pay during the shutdown, and Obama signed it Monday night)
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Air traffic control and emergency medical care, border patrol, federal prisons, law enforcement emergency and disaster assistance and the power grid
All of these agencies must first divide their employees into essential v. non-essential and those who are considered “essential” will continue to receive pay (thought it may be deferred for a time period) all others will be sent home without pay. Some agencies will be shut down completely. Those include the following agencies:
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Health
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Housing
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Immigration
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Law Enforcement – Justice Department
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Parks & Museums
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Regulatory
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Financial Regulators
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Visas & Passports
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Veterans
It is estimated that approximately 800,000 federal workers will be sent home as the direct result of this. For an example of the negative side effects of this, you should read this short paragraph that is likely to make this situation real to you. For example, cancer research centers are being shut down, and patients are being turned away from children’s hospitals. So, I challenge you, Bryant students, read up on this. Learn about the crisis our government is faced with today. Take a stance–not a side–a stance. See the video below to see how divided our current government is. Isn’t the safety and well-being of our country a matter of all parties, not one? Do you think it is one party’s fault we are in this situation? Or do you think our government has reached a point of no return, one based on oppositions rather than motives, one based on tearing each other down than working to hold our country up?