By: Elena CaputoWith a partial government shutdown that has broken the record for being the longest one in American history, the nation is wondering who is to blame, how to move on and when their country will be able to get back on its feet? Unfortunately, government officials have yet to answer these questions amidst the constant debates between both the legislative and executive branches. The budget conflicts began on Dec. 20, when a meeting between President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi went awry. Trump, whose signature campaign promise was a wall that stretched across the US-Mexico border, refused to sign the spending deal that would keep money flowing to the government past December 21 unless the new budget included $5.6 billion dollars for the wall.
By January 13, this shutdown will have become the longest in U.S. history, and people across the nation are really beginning to feel the disadvantages of the situation. Federal employees are, arguably, the most adversely affected by the shutdown. Around 420,000 federal employees are considered “essential” and are working without pay, and 380,000 employees have been furloughed. This shutdown affects the daily lives of federal employees and their families far more than politicians are currently taking into account. Not even two weeks into the shutdown, the District of Columbia reported receiving over 900 claims connected to the shutdown. Maryland counted more than 600. These claims will likely continue to pile up because January 12 marked the first full paycheck that federal workers will miss thanks to the shutdown. Among federal workers, feelings of resentment toward the higher-ups who seem to lack concern for their employees is running rampant. Brian Turner, for instance, has worked for TSA as an officer for six years and will continue working without pay during the shutdown. Turner endured a 16-day shutdown in 2013, but he didn’t have a house or family at the time. “I love working for the country,” he said, “But I can’t go two months without a paycheck.” Daniel A. Sobien is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service who, unlike Turner, has been furloughed and is living on his savings. He told the New York Times that federal workers are “tired of being political pawns,” and he goes on to say, “I realize that unfair things happen to people all the time, but it really is unfair that because of politics, government employees have to shoulder the burden.” Many in Congress, particularly House Democrats, believe that the wall proposed by Trump should never be valued higher than the well-being of American workers, especially considering it would be ineffective in combating the border “crisis.” The flow of undocumented immigrants into America is declining significantly. In 2000, there were approximately 1.8 million people trying to enter the United States illegally according to the Pew Research Center. In 2018, according to the Department of Homeland Security, there were only 400,000 undocumented immigrants trying to enter the country. With that said, however, a wall would still not help an actual border crisis. Most undocumented immigrants enter by coming to the U.S. legally and then overstaying their visas. Democrats and even some Republicans are pushing for the president to focus his attention on getting the government back on track and alleviating the burden on the Americans who keep the nation running.
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