The government officially shut down on Wednesday at midnight. What does this mean for us, though?
On Tuesday night, Congress couldn’t reach an agreement on funding for the US, leaving Americans fearful and confused.
Democrats and Republicans could not agree. Democrats want lower costs for healthcare, and republicans were not budging on their stance. When republicans proposed a bill, most democrats shot it down, with only three democrats voting in favor of it. Once the clock ran out on Tuesday, September 30, the government officially shut down.
Americans are left full of confusion. So what does a shutdown mean? Only the necessary federally funded organizations will stay open. Within these organizations, many, if not most, federal workers will be furloughed or laid off from their jobs, unless they are necessary or needed greatly. Workers who don’t get laid off will be required to work without pay.
Some of the organizations that will stay open are airports, the military, the FDA, and the Department of Health and Human Services. Although these organizations are staying open, many are laying off thousands of workers. Things like air travel and TSA will be significantly backed up if the shutdown lasts long enough.
Services like WIC and SNAP are at risk; once their funds run out, it will depend on the state contingency funds to keep them up and running. National parks like Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Yosemite are also at risk. The parks are being kept as accessible as possible, but with the thousands of layoffs, there is a chance they will not be this accessible in the future.
Although the government shutdown isn’t affecting us much right now, as it lasts longer and longer, we’ll feel the effects more. We’re more than a week into the shutdown, and it doesn’t seem like there’s an end in sight.
