The current 2019 United States government shutdown is America's longest in history. It reached its 22nd day on January 12, 2019, exceeding the 21-day record set in 1995. The shutdown is currently in its fourth week and has affected almost 800,000 federal workers, with the average worker missing $5000 in pay, according to a New York Times article.
As of January 16, 2019, the shutdown has lasted 25 days, with 9 federal departments and agencies have closed their doors due to Trump halting legislative funding after Democrats refused to green light the president's demand of $5.7 billion for a southern border wall. Groups of bipartisan lawmakers have assembled to attempt to come to a resolution with Trump regarding the shutdown following Nancy Pelosi's letter requesting Trump to delay his State of the Union address. The shutdown stemmed from President Trump's refusal to fund the activity of certain government agencies and departments until he receives funding for the border wall between Mexico and the United States.
January's shutdown has caused thousands of government workers to be called back to work to remedy the toll to the U.S. economy from the business standstill. However, federal employees were not the only ones affected. Contractors became unemployed due to the recent shutdown, not being able to recover missed wages, and Trump has issued a $12 billion bailout to U.S. farmers to compensate for American farmers not being able to trade with certain countries during the current trade war.
However, these payouts are frozen due to the Agricultural Department being shut down. The farmers faced a freeze on government loans, subsidy payments, and other federal services due to President Trump failing to secure trade agreements with Europe, China, Japan, and other countries, according to another New York Times article. According to USA Today, a government shutdown occurs when the House, Senate, and the president cannot agree on terms for allocation of government funding. Current federal departments affected in the shutdown are Homeland Security, Justice, Agriculture, Treasury, State, Interior, Transportation, Commerce, and Housing and Urban Development.
The shutdown began on Saturday, December 22, 2018. In an unexpected turn of events, due to the White House shut down, President Trump served the Clemson Tigers, 2019 College Football Playoff National Champions, an assortment of fast food during their visit to the White House because of kitchen staff not being able to work, according to the White House. The current crisis has affected multiple government agencies as previously mentioned, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and General Services Administration (GSA).
According to the USDA, food stamp benefits, which account for 10% of the food U.S. families buy, may halt due to loss of funding, stripping 0.53 percent from the U.S. GDP (gross domestic product). An extended shutdown could also test government employees' willingness to stay on the job without pay, especially with outside employers looking to hire in the fierce labor market. Air travel could be severely affected if the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security officers leave in droves. Airports in cities like Miami and Houston have already had to merge security lanes due to TSA officers calling in sick. The GSA could stop issuing rental payments for federal buildings, causing a drop in revenue for property owners, as federal agencies stop paying the General Services Administration for using its buildings.
Trump rejected a proposal by Senator Lindsey Graham (SC) to halt the shutdown for 3 weeks and attempt to renew negotiations with Democrats regarding government funding. With no end in sight for the government shutdown, predictions of when and how governmental processes and economic functioning will come back into play are uncertain. Government workers will likely resist working much longer in the near future with continued withholding of pay.
We can only hope that some degree of compassion is sparked inside President Trump that causes him to think of the 38 million Americans who may go without food stamps if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues without funds and that he attempts to restart negotiations with the Democrats regarding government funding and border security. Otherwise, the lights might continue to remain off in the factory that is American government for weeks to come.
