Federal Government Shutdown

By Gordon Hopkins Having failed to reach the 60 votes in the U.S. Senate needed to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government, the federal government shut down for the first time in six years on October 1 at 12:01 a.m.The previous shutdown occurred in 2018-2019, under the first Donald Trump administration, and lasted 35 days, the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history. Local ImpactJefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock told FJN, “There should be little significant impacts in the short term but may be more significant impacts in the longer term as Nebraska county government and associated nonprofit entities that county government supports to provide various essential services to our fellow citizens are funded to a significant degree by federal government funding and grants. Hopefully it is of short duration.”Nevertheless, there will be some immediate local impacts. Due to the lapse in federal funding, the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) Fairbury office will be closed until further notice.Another way both government and private employers will be impacted right away is in the hiring of new employees. E-Verify, an online government service that allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States, is currently unavailable.U.S. Representative Don Bacon has provided a list of federal services that will continue during the shutdown. This list is not comprehensive:Social Security payments, including SSI benefitsMedicare and Medicaid benefitsVA medical care and benefits (although some regional offices may be closed)SNAP benefits (although a prolonged shutdown could create disruptions)Disability paymentsMail deliveryFederal law enforcement and military operationsAir travelFederal employee retirement paymentsStudent aid such as Pell Grants and Federal Direct Student LoansVisits to national Smithsonian Museums (until at least Monday, October 6)Visa and passport services (although longer wait times are possible)However, some of these federal workers, such as air traffic controllers and some military, are now working without pay.According to immigration attorney Nathan Dallon of Hatch and Dallon, LLC, President Trump has “front-loaded” funding for immigration services but that will likely only last a week or two. If the shutdown continues longer than that, the result could be, in Dallon’s words, “very disruptive.” Reason for the ShutdownThere have been many government shutdowns in the past. What makes this go round different from prior shutdowns is that Democrats are voting against a “clean” continuing resolution, meaning there are no partisan add-ons. In a recent press conference, Representative Bacon explained, “If you look at the history of our shutdowns, we've never shut down the government when we've had a clean, a totally clean continuing resolution. There were no partisan bills in it, no poison pills. It was a seven-week CR, and you know, in the past, we've shut down when Congress, the House or the Senate, would pass legislation, and then we put a poison pill in it, or a partisan piece of it to try to force it on the other party. So, for example, approximately 12 years ago, the Republicans tried to get rid of Obamacare through a CR? Well, we had a shutdown. Then we had the Democrats pass the CR, trying to force the Republicans on immigration matters like DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). Then we had another time where the Republicans tried to force a border wall that was incorporated into the CR Bill, you know, the funding for it. We had a shutdown for that. So, the history of shutdowns has been one of one of the parties is trying to put in a partisan piece of legislation in these CRs.”Bacon added, “Well, in this case, this is a totally clean CR. There was nothing partisan in it. And I think it's really unprecedented to see the other party vote to shut the government down. And the reality is, 99 percent of the Republicans voted to fund the government with a clean CR for seven weeks, and 98 percent of the Democrats voted to not do so.”The issue that is keeping Democrats from voting for a continuing resolution is healthcare. Democrats want to see cuts made to Medicaid reversed. They also want to see an extension of the ACA (Affordable Care Act) tax credits, which are set to expire on December 31 of this year. If that happens, people insured through ACA could see their premiums increase dramatically.Bacon said Republicans are willing to negotiate on those health care matters. However, it is worth noting that, currently, Republicans control the House, the Senate and the presidency. As a result, the continuing resolution is the only significant bargaining chip Democrats have at this time. Response to the ShutdownNebraska’s delegates have made clear they place the blame for the shutdown solely on Democrats. U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts issued a statement shortly after the shutdown began, “The Democrats just voted to shut down government. They voted against a clean continuing resolution (CR) that would have funded government for seven weeks. Previously, they had voted for this exact budget. In fact, Democrats voted for a clean CR 13 times under Joe Biden. This Schumer Shutdown is the height of hypocrisy. Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats know this. Yet they continue to hold the nation hostage. Senate Republicans will continue working to responsibly fund the government. This is a Schumer Shutdown.” Unsurprisingly, Democrats in the House and Senate have a very different point of view, such as U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who participated a rally the day before the shutdown took place.“This Republican-manufactured shutdown is threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of families by ripping away essential healthcare, gutting federal jobs, and cutting the critical services that are a lifeline for our communities,” said Pressley. “Donald Trump and his Republican co-conspirators continue to demonstrate contempt for the people and advance harmful policies that make people hungrier, poorer, sicker, and less safe. As duly elected Members of Congress, it is not only our duty, but our obligation, to make life better for the people we serve. Instead, Republicans have shamefully pushed the country into a dangerous government shutdown, and our constituents deserve better. I refuse to accept this future as an inevitability, and I will continue to fight to reopen the government, keep essential services running, mitigate the Republican-caused healthcare crisis, and center the dignity, humanity, and safety of folks in the Massachusetts 7th and across the country.” A Warning From BaconRepresentative Bacon issued a stark warning to his Democrat colleagues before the shutdown.“I advised my friends across the aisle not to do this,” said Bacon. “But I said one thing that you're doing by having a shutdown is, you are empowering the president. You're giving him more power. I forewarned them. That's why we didn't have a shutdown over the last four, four years. Because the Republicans knew, if we had a shutdown, we're handing the keys over to President Biden in this case, and that they can make a lot of decisions on shutdown they can't ordinarily do in a when the government's operating and funded.”

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