Government shutdown goes into effect

The U.S. Congress has reached a stalemate with two proposals for the upcoming fiscal year government funding, and this impasse caused a government shutdown to go into effect on Oct. 1.

If the shutdown continues, CSB+SJU may begin to feel trickle-down effects.

In order to approve a fiscal year budget, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees must come to an agreement.

If they are not able to negotiate and pass a funding bill for Congress and the President to sign into action, then the funding is suspended until an agreement can be reached.

Since 1976, the US government has had 20 shutdowns, with the most recent being in 2018 and lasting 35 days.

It costed the U.S. economy an estimated 11 billion dollars, with many federal employees drastically reducing spending in response to their lost wages.

“The political gridlock is also expected to put 40% of the federal workforce – about 750,000 people – on unpaid leave,” according to the recent BBC article.

This has the potential to impact a variety of communities- including college campuses.

“Right now, the government shutdown probably isn’t affecting us directly but it definitely could if it continues,” Christi Siver, political science professor said. “FAFSA opened earlier than it has ever opened, but there is nobody at the Department of Education to answer questions. So if students are trying to get a jumpstart on completing FAFSA there are a bunch of questions that will go unanswered.”

All “essential” workers will continue to work, but they will not be paid until the shutdown ends.

“As [the shutdown] continues, the work is piling up on the desks of federal workers who are eventually going to have to work through all of this when they come back,” Siver said.

Agencies like the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be forced to furlough many of their employees, which may lead to delays in ongoing research and treatment development.

National Parks are either left unstaffed or closed entirely.

Food assistance programs are rapidly running out of funding, though food stamps are expected to last a while longer.

Medicare and Medicaid will remain up and running, though staffing shortages may cause some interruptions.

“There are two threats that President Trump made that I think are important to consider. The first is that federal workers may not receive back pay, which then would mean that a lot of federal workers would leave their positions. The second threat is that there may be large scale job cuts at federal agencies. Many agencies like the Department of Education have already been cut, and there is this possibility of losing capacity at the federal government, which will then impact how students engage with the federal government,” Siver said.

The government shutdown has the potential to impact college campuses, and CSB+SJU is not immune.

The Department of Education will be ceasing operations and suspending 87% of their employees until the government is up and running again.

Some federal grants may be cancelled or postponed, causing disruptions to the operation and administration of federal programming and student aid.

CSB Senior Grace Jesch spoke about her concerns with the shutdown.

“I just applied for a federal scholarship, and it’s possible that an extended shutdown could result in delays. That’s disappointing, even if it is a micro-level impact,” Jesch said.

According to the White House, the central debate causing the suspension of funds is on healthcare.

Democrats and Republicans on the committee have been unable to agree on the amount and dispersion of funds for programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

“I am concerned both because of the reason of the shutdown and the outcome of the shutdown. I would rather see the government shutdown than see the attacks on the affordable care act go through, but I wish we could govern effectively to avoid this issue because it does have a wide range of impacts,” Jesch said.

The government shutdown could span upwards of a month, though the public is urging legislators to come to an agreement quickly and peacefully.