US Government Shuts Down After Senate Fails to Agree on New Spending Bill

The House of Representatives and the Senate descended into chaos yesterday after failing to agree on a resolution to prevent a government shutdown, and both parties are now blaming each other for the mess.

Every year, the US Congress is forced to pass 12 bills that provide them with money for the new fiscal year, and these bills are to be signed before October 1. This is because the US Constitution, like many others, requires all money spent by the government to be approved by Congress.

However, they rarely sign all 12 bills before the deadline, forcing them to sign a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded. This resolution serves as a stopgap for a certain period of time, but minority parties often use a CR to obtain items that they may want or prevent certain measures from the opposite party.

This year, the primary issue has been healthcare– Democrats are attempting to force Republicans to take action on several problems that they have not been able to address due to their minority in both the House and the Senate. They have enough power, though, where Republicans are unable to pass a stopgap bill without getting some Democratic support, putting the two sides at an impasse.

Democrats are demanding that Republicans negotiate with them on several key issues, including the extension of tax credits on insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act, the reversal of Trump's cuts to Medicaid and public broadcasting services like PBS and NPR, the halting of foreign aid cuts, and other cuts to organizations like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institute of Health (NIH). For consumers, these actions will lead to a widespread increase in health insurance costs and possibly even a complete loss of healthcare for some Medicaid users.

Meanwhile, Republicans are claiming that they will negotiate, but after the bill has been passed. Nevertheless, Trump seems more than happy to shut down the government, as he believes that Democrats will be widely blamed. Democrats, on the other hand, believe that the public will side with them on the crucial issue of healthcare. Either way, the shutdown has gone into effect, and it could have a major impact on the government.

Trump has stated that he will use the shutdown to fire more federal employees, which he has been slowly working on through the extensive cuts that have been implemented over the last nine months. He believes that firing these unnecessary employees could save money for the government, and confirmed that once the shutdown takes place, layoffs will begin. He also added, "They're going to be Democrats."

Other impacts include the shutdown of food assistance programs, student loans, and national parks, but crucial programs like social security benefits and Medicare will continue. Border protection, air traffic control, and police forces will also continue working, though many employees go unpaid during government shutdowns. Essential workers continue working and are often paid after the shutdown ends, while non-essential workers are either laid off or simply do not work for that time period.

Additionally, government shutdowns often have a significant economic impact– the last shutdown, which occurred in 2018 during Trump's first term, lasted 35 days and cost the US economy around $11 billion. Shutdowns happen regularly from year to year, but they are often short and do not have lasting impacts. This year, though, it could last quite some time, as Democrats and Republicans have completely refused to agree with each other, and Trump's actions during the shutdown could heavily affect the US government going forward.

Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): Four Nile crocodiles have been found in Florida. They are the second-largest crocodile and are more dangerous than the native crocodiles and alligators in Florida.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): When you forgive, you free your soul. But when you say I’m sorry, you free two souls. (Donald L. Hicks)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Impetuous (adj, im-PECH-uh-wus) - Impetuous is a synonym of impulsive that describes a person who is acting without thought, or an action that is done without thought.

In a Sentence: That impetuous decision could've cost us everything we worked so hard for.

Image credit to US National Park Service