Guide to the government shutdown

As our country inches closer to a month-long shutdown and disagreements between President Trump and Congress continue, the phrase “government shutdown” has become more and more popular, with some not knowing the meaning behind the term.

A government shutdown is when federal programs, like the Department of Labor and FDA, stop functioning because Congress cannot provide the money to keep them running. September 30 marks the start of the economic year for Congress, by which they need to decide on a budget. If this does not happen, members can agree on a resolution to keep the government funded. However, if Congress fails to agree on a resolution, the government enters a shutdown.

Currently, the United States has been in a shutdown since December 21, 2018 and 400,000 government employees in jobs considered “non-critical” have been sent home without pay. Employees were sent home from these departments: Homeland Security, Justice, Agriculture, Treasury, Interior, Transportation, Commerce, Environment Protection Agency, and Housing and Urban Development.

Air traffic controllers, corrections officers, and various other federal workers are also working without pay. The longer the shutdown continues, the more government departments and agencies will shut as savings from previous years dry up.

The main cause of the shutdown was when Congress met with President Trump on December 11, 2018 to discuss the federal budget and hopefully avoid a shutdown. However, President Trump stood by his threat to close the government if they did not agree to include the $5 billion required to build the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, which occurred when Congress called the President’s immigration idea ineffective.

There is still no end in sight, as President Trump stated that the shutdown could last months and even years if Congress does not agree to build the wall, leaving thousands of hard-working Americans suffering before the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election.