Government Shutdown 2019

Written over the course of a few weeks, submitted on January 29, 2019. An oration written by Caterina Fiore about the most recent Government Shutdown.

It’s been the top story for weeks, has been circulating the news for the past month, and has kept people across the nation on the edge of their seats. December 22 of 2018 marked the day of one of the most recent government shutdowns in the United States. As of today, January 24, 2019, the government is still on shutdown. This makes this shutdown the longest government shutdown in US history. On December 22, Congress and the president did not agree on a bill that addressed funding of government agencies. Due to this disagreement, the government partially shutdown on December 22 and has remained that way since. Shutdown of government are not words that any United States citizen is pleased to hear; especially when the reason it began is so controversial. This shutdown is affecting over 800,000 Americans across the nation, and there is no anticipated end to this madness in sight.

At the end of 2018, Trump asked Congress to provide an updated budget for 2019. The president and Congress could not come to an agreement regarding a section of the budget for some federal agencies before the deadline, so part of the government shut down. The number one reason the budget was not passed was because President Trump was pushing for 5 billion dollars in the budget to build his wall at the US-Mexican border. The new Congress did not approve. With less than two years in office, Donald Trump has already overseen three government shutdowns and takes “personal responsibility” for the current shutdown. It has broken the record for the longest shutdown in US history (33 days as of January 24, 2019.) As a result of this stalemate, nine federal departments including the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Housing, Homeland Security, Urban Development, Interior, State, Transportation and Treasury were shut down because they had no money to fund them.

So how does this shutdown affect 800,000 of the aforementioned American citizens? Over 800,000 people work in these federal agencies. When the government shut down, these employees were put on leave and have since missed two consecutive paychecks since December 22. “Essential” employees continue to work, as well as employees who are called back to their jobs, but they are unsure of when they will receive their next paycheck. Hardship is upon these employees and their families who are struggling to pay bills to the point where some are using food banks and pawning their most valuable possessions. Congress has passed legislation to guarantee that these furloughed workers will eventually get their back pay. On January 19, Trump made an offer to the Democrats, which could have terminated this destructive impasse. In an attempt to make a “common-sense compromise” with the Democrats, his offer included funding for his border wall which did not meet the requirements of the Democrats. Therefore it was rejected, and we are no closer to ending this dispute than we were a week ago. Since the shutdown began, lawmakers have introduced pieces of legislation to prevent these types of situations in the future.

Before we get into what a government shutdown is, I would like to explain a topic that this shutdown revolves around. That topic is politics. On which people have different viewpoints and affiliations. Politics can easily be one of the most controversial topics to speak about and one’s opinions are often criticized. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition, politics is “the art or science of government.” As stated by the Cambridge Dictionary, politics are the “activities of the government, politicians, or political parties, or the study of these activities.” With this current situation and almost every government issue, big or small, news broadcasters study the topic and update their information daily.

A government shutdown (a partial government shutdown in this case) is conspicuously a shutdown of the government as mentioned beforehand. A government shutdown occurs when Congress and the President can not come to an agreement over a bill that addresses funding for government agencies. The shutdown continues until both parties can come to an agreement for the funding. These disruptive shutdowns can last from days to weeks. The previous record holding shutdown was in 1996 which lasted for three weeks. Due to the unagreed upon bills associated with funding for government agencies, non-essential government agencies shut down. Essential agencies continue to work because they are “essential” to the safety of the American people.

Every year Congress needs to come up with a budget of government agencies for the upcoming year. Once Congress passes the budget, the President then signs them into a law. These budgets have deadlines, so when the budget from the previous year runs out, there needs to be a new budget in place. In this case, at the end of 2018, President Trump asked Congress to provide an updated budget for 2019. President Trump and Congress could not come to an agreement over a part of the budget before the deadline, so part of the government shut down. The federal government is on a partial shutdown because when Congress creates the budget for the whole government they do not complete it all at once. They complete it in sections. Congress had already passed most of the funding bills before the deadline (December 22) and only needed Trump to sign the last “wave” of bills. Alas, President Trump and Congress did not agree and funding for the last few agencies were not approved. All of the departments that were supposed to be funded by those bills did not receive the money, and due to that they had to shut down. Only about one-fourth of government agencies were shutdown, which is why this particular shutdown is considered a partial government

As of January 24, the US government has been partially shut down for 33 days. Various ways to end the shutdown have been suggested, but it seems as if it is impossible to come to an agreement to put an end to the situation. For example, on January 24 the Senate failed to approve two different spending proposals that could have potentially ended the shutdown. It has come to the point where a short-term bill might be passed to reopen the government for a short time to allow lawmakers the time to devise a long-term bill. Until that day comes, it is important for United States citizens to be involved. I encourage you to educate yourself on the happenings of this shutdown and to stay involved within your community. Whether that means buying a coffee for a furloughed worker you know, to writing an article about the situation and how it makes you feel, or spreading the word to your friends and family. The pressure coming from all across the nation might just be the way the government reopens.

There are multiple solutions to end the shutdown which have either been declined or do not meet all the requirements. Congressmen who have been working on a solution to reopen the government for the past month are running out of ideas. As mentioned before, the pressure coming from furloughed employees and other US citizens could be the possible end to the shutdown. As for the president, it’s the choice between his nation’s budget or his border wall.

Over the course of the past month, new laws, pieces of legislation, proclamations and bills have been put into place to reopen the government. On January 22, Senator Mark Warner introduced a piece of legislation called the Stop STUPIDITY act, which stands for Shutdowns Transferring Unnecessary Pain and Inflicting Damage in the Coming Years, to prevent issues like this in the future. To end government shutdowns once and for all we could implement an automatic continuing resolution, which conspicuously gives Congress and the president an “extension” if they fail to agree on funding before the deadline. If Donald Trump, the Democrats or the Republicans were to cave and side with their opposing party, the government could reopen. One of the main roadblocks to solving the shutdown is due to President Donald Trump, the man who “started” this shutdown. Trump created and took pride in this nationwide dilemma, mainly because of the belief that a border wall is needed to protect America and to fulfill his campaign promise. His “common-sense” compromise was rejected by the Senate and so was his most recent proposal to extend the DACA (Deferred action for Childhood Arrivals) in exchange for billions of dollars in border wall funding. Each and every proposal Trump has constructed since December 22 has involved funding for the wall. Given the current situation, is a wall more important than the well-being of the United States? Trump seems to think so.

This deep into the shutdown, I feel that it is necessary to do what is best for the American people. That is to reopen the federal government as soon as possible, even for a short while. Which does not include a deal about funding Trump’s wall. This will allow furloughed workers the time to get back on their feet, lawmakers the time to formulate a long-term solution and it will give Trump the time to resourcefully figure out the best way to attain his “fundamental” wall funds. The nation as a whole will be able to take a breather and to have the assurance that there is a plan in place is crucial. Keeping the government shutdown for such a prolonged period of time can only do more harm.  

The Congress, Senate, and President Trump need to work together to reopen the government as soon as possible, with beneficial and instantaneous terms for the American people. It is the only way to start the healing process of a wound that is beginning to infect us all. In conclusion, we should continue educating ourselves and others about the longest government shutdown in US history. May the parties involved come to a satisfying conclusion. Please keep in mind, that the status of the shutdown is updated hourly.

On Friday, January 25, President Trump announced a deal which temporarily ended the longest government shutdown in US history. This short term bill will reopen the government until February 15. The proposals of this deal emphasized what I wrote in the confutation. This short but effective spending bill allows the furloughed workers time to get back on their feet, and this bill did not include funding for the border wall, which was a previous requirement for President Trump. If a long-term solution is not reached by February 15, it is possible for the government to shut down again.

I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to research the “Government Shutdown 2019.” This assignment has sparked my interest for politics, and I will continue to pursue this and other such topics in the future.

 

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