By: Syd Bickers
The federal government rolled over in its bed this morning and decided not to report to work, like a sleepy-eyed college student choosing to skip their 8 a.m. class.
Hitting snooze on the budget alarm
As of this morning the federal government is on shutdown until further notice. Around 800,000 government workers have been furloughed due to a congressional gridlock concerning the passing of the October 1 Continuing Resolution (CR). A CR is essentially a mini-budget bill that outlines how the government will continue to fund departments, according to Milligan Professor of Political Science Amy Edmonds.
The last CR was approved in March and expired today. Without congressional agreement on the bill, nonessential government departments closed their doors.
Partisan Gridlock: More than just a budget
Debate has circled around the Affordable Care Act being the cause of the deadlock. Though the direct hangup is caused by the CR, it is indirectly caused by an amendment made to “undermine the Affordable Care Act” that the Republican House added to the bill, according to the Washington Post. The Democratic Senate would not pass the amended bill, so it repealed the amendment and passed the bill without it. However, the unamended bill couldn’t pass through both chambers, bringing on the shutdown.
Repercussions
Though essential government offices like the United States Postal Service, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans’ hospitals will remain open, most federal agencies didn’t open today. Over 400 national parks closed, according to the Washington Post, including Yosemite National Park, which celebrates its 123th Birthday today. Though VA hospitals remain open, The Veterans Benefits Administration will not process applications to collect benefits. The Department of Homeland Security has arrested its E-Verify program that allows business to check on the immigration status of potential employees. A more comprehensive list of shutdowns can be found by clicking here.
Though college students may not currently be directly affected, Edmonds said student loan processing could be halted if the shutdown continued for several months.
“I think it’s very unlikely that this will last longer than a month,” said Edmonds, “but I never was to underestimate the disfunction of Congress.”
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