While the effect of the shutdown is not felt by most Americans, millions could be hit if it does not end by February.Ĭitizens and resident of the US who are part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) may have their assistance disrupted in March.ĭepartment of Agriculture (USDA) officials have said SNAP beneficiaries will continue to receive assistance through February, but they could not make any guarantees if the shutdown continued into the following month. Unions representing workers have led protests throughout the country, demanding an end to the shutdown. How are we going to pay rent? How are we going to pay out bills? How in the hell are we going to eat?” In Detroit, federal worker Gregory Simpkins told the Associated Press, “Next week, it’s going to be a panic mode. Many of the thousands of federal workers affected by the shutdown have expressed anxiety over not receiving their paycheques. Some national parks have also closed or have limited services. On January 2, the Smithsonian museums and National Zoo in Washington, DC, closed due to the shutdown. “I spoke with one tribal leader who said that they actually lost a tribal member because they were unable to plough the roads so that an emergency service vehicle could get to him in time,” Davids recently told National Public Radio (NPR).ĭavids explained that federal funds that go to tribal communities for services such as ploughing roads and healthcare have stopped due to the shutdown. Immigration courts have also been affected, worsening an already existing backlog, which includes more than 800,000 cases.Ī sign at the entrance to the Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook, warns visitors of limited services, such as closed restrooms, during the partial government shutdown Īccording to Democratic Representative Sharice Davids, who was recently sworn in, the shutdown has had a direct effect on Native Americans’ lives. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has stopped many of its services, but officials said the agency would continue issuing tax refunds.
After past government shutdowns, Congress has approved back pay for federal workers, but the American Federation of Government Employees, which launched the recent lawsuit, called the requirement to work without pay “inhumane”. Others are furloughed, or placed on temporary leave.įederal employees have sued the US government over the requirement that some workers must work without pay. This includes the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, State, Transportation and Treasury.įederal workers deemed “essential” are required to work without pay. The shutdown affects more than 800,000 federal workers in nine different departments, as well as several federal agencies. Here’s a lookback at how the US got here and who was affected by the shutdown: What departments are affected? What does the shutdown mean for federal workers? The deal, once signed, would end the longest government shutdown in US history. On January 25 – 35 days into the shutdown – Trump announced he had reached a tenative deal with congressional leaders to reopen the government for three weeks while talks on the border wall continued.
Key parts of the US government shut down on December 22 after President Donald Trump and Democratic politicians hit an impasse over the president’s request for $5bn in funding for a wall on the US-Mexico border, a demand Democrats oppose.
0 kommentar(er)
