The government shutdown has been a constant topic in news and social media, I’m sure you’ve seen it on your newsfeed at least once every day. There’s memes, puns, and many Ron Swanson reference jokes, but what is actually going on? Maybe you’ve heard bits and pieces in passing conversations, something about Obamacare and those Republicans.
First, I would like to say that I am not bias. I do not identify with either Republican or Democratic parties, and I’m going to be honest, the sole reason for this: I am uninformed. As are many college students because we all have enough on our minds with exams, internships, and grad school applications. I don’t want to beat my chest about something I know so little about because that would be ignorant.
However, I have made it a personal mission to become more informed this year. I’m tired of being out of the loop, and I’m sure many of you are, but you don’t know where to start. As I researched many different news sources, because I know some platforms are vaguely biased, here is the breakdown of what is happening with the shutdown:
Who: Congress, Government Services, Republican Party (GOP), and Democratic Party
What: Funding the government and in association The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare)
Where: Capitol Hill (home of Congress), where bills (proposed laws) are passed or negotiated
When it all started: Sunday (Sept. 29)/Monday (Sept. 30)
Why: The Republican House wants to repeal Obamacare and until there is some sort of an agreement, will not fund federal agencies. The government funds many agencies, which keeps our day-to-day life running, this includes paying out small business loans and processing passport requests.
Both Sides on Healthcare in Short
Republican: The new health law (Obamacare) will eliminate jobs, raise taxes, and increase the overall cost of healthcare.
Democratic: Everyone will have access to affordable healthcare, including those not covered by an employer and low-income individuals and families, by using mandates, subsidies, and insurance exchanges.
What Happened?
Sunday (9/29): The Republican House passed 2 spending bill amendments: one that would delay Obamacare for a year and one that would repeal the Obamacare’s medical device tax (taxes that pay for healthcare)
Monday (9/30): The bills went back to the Senate, where the Democrats rejected the bills, and there was a failure to meet an agreement.
What happened next? The White House directed federal agencies to implement their plans to partially shut down operations
Tuesday (10/1): The House Republicans introduced a series of short-term bills that would finance small parts of the government and prevent popular programs from shutting down. They also produced a measure to have the two chambers (Repub. & Democrat) to assign a small group of lawmakers to resolve budget differences and scale back the health law, including a one-year delay on individuals carrying health insurance as required by the law. The Senate Democratic Leaders rejected this measure.
Wednesday (10/2): Congress and Obama prepare for shutdown and debt. The two parties were unable to negotiate the situation and as a result could potentially hurt the ability of the Treasury to pay government bills beyond mid-October. This means Congress will have to approve an increase in the federal debt ceiling (limit set on the amount of money that a government may borrow) by then or there will be larger consequences to face.
*Hitting the debt ceiling is similar to maxing out a credit card.
*The federal government has a limit of $16.699 trillion
What’s ahead: Estimated through December 15, the House will be voting on bills that restore funding for veteran services, national parks, the District of Columbia, and other services.
-Obama might negotiate with Republicans on budget concerns and (maybe) tweaks to the health care law if Congress approves temporary extension of government funding and debt-limit increase to give time for negotiations.
*Since the Republican House is not funding right now, there needs to be a temporary extension.
This is not the first time
There was a previous shutdown, the first in late 1995 into 1996, which lasted 21 days.
What about the government workers- if they’re not funding, this means cuts!
3.3 million government workers get to keep their jobs, but around 800,000 will lose them, according to CNN analysis.
What about us? The college students!!
In short term, the shutdown does not affect student aid or student loans, and colleges with government grants will be able to continue on.
“The department of education will continue its law enforcement functions, in addition to its Pell grant and Federal Direct Student Loan programs, which are not funded by annual appropriations and are therefore exempt from the shutdown.”
–Wall Street Journal
However, depending how long the shutdown lasts, the school districts, colleges and universities, and rehabilitation agencies will start to see a decrease in funding.
*All information in the above article was retrieved from CNN, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, the New York Times, democrats.org, and gop.com.