The United States government partially shut down at the start of October, after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement on passing a bill that would fund government services for the month and beyond.
While mandatory services continue to operate such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Social Security and Medicare, other services such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) have activities that are delayed, which could delay mortgages and new loans from being processed.
In the U.S., the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government must reach an agreement on spending plans before they can become law. Budget confrontations are common in U.S. politics, but Sydney Forrest, a Howard University senior and legislative intern on The Hill, recently observed increasing tension between Democrats and Republicans on “hot-button” or popular topics, such as immigration, healthcare, gun control, diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and LGBTQIA+ rights.
“The choices on how government officials want systems to be run in the long run affect people. Both sides are trying to push something different and they’re not willing to bend to the other side as compared to a couple of years ago,” Forrest said.
Republicans currently control both chambers of Congress, but in the Senate, they are short of the 60 votes required to pass the spending bill, according to BBC. Democrats have the remaining votes, but they want changes. Some of their ask include extensions to tax credits which will make health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans, a reversal of Trump’s cuts to Medicaid and a government healthcare program that is used by millions of elderly, disabled and low-income people, according to BBC. The Senate Democrats also strongly oppose spending cuts to government agencies.
Charles Schumer, a Democratic New York Senator, recently made a post to the social media platform X, saying, “The government is shut down because Trump and the Republicans are hellbent on taking health care away from you. And they won’t even come to the table to talk to us about it. This is not about politics. It’s about people. We will not let Republicans blow up our healthcare system.”
In the video attached to Schumer’s post, he expresses that the Big Beautiful Bill, a federal statute passed by the Trump administration that contains tax and spending policies, will cut a trillion dollars from healthcare spending and cause insurance premiums to go up to 93 percent. As a result, 22 million will pay more for insurance and 4 million will lose coverage entirely.
At midnight on Oct. 1, it was made official that the government was having its first shutdown in over five years. The last government shutdown began on Dec. 22, 2018 and lasted 35 days until Jan. 25. 2019.
Within the U.S. government services that have been temporarily suspended, 40 percent of the federal workforce are considered nonessential and about 750,000 people are expected to be put on unpaid leave, according to BBC.
Nonessential government employees are often referred to as those with jobs not deemed critical to the immediate safety of human life, national security or property protection. Contractors who work for federal agencies but are not directly employed will also be on unpaid leave as well.
Essential personnel such as active-duty military, air traffic controllers, border agents and TSA officers, are required to work without pay, according to the Columbus Dispatch. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which is responsible for coordinating federal responses to disasters and emergencies at all levels will continue to respond to emergencies, but long-term projects may be delayed depending on how long the shutdown lasts.
Programs like Medicaid will also continue.
Forrest found out about the shutdown while at work. She detailed the uncertainty that followed.
“Two days before the deadline, there were speculations about the vote potentially not passing. Then the conversation had shifted to ‘it might not pass and if that happens, the government shuts down,’” Forrest said.
Forrest has been out of work since the shutdown occurred as interns are not considered essential workers.
Forrest voiced concern that government shutdowns could become more prevalent as there is increasing pushback from both Democrats and Republicans.
The Senate failed several attempts to reopen the government earlier this week, and there are still ongoing votes to end the shutdown as the consequences become more severe the longer it continues.
Copy edited by Damenica Ellis
