FAIRMONT PREPARATORY ACADEMY, ANAHEIM, CA
BIPARTISANRY
by Kayla Bach
The Constitution of the United States
requires that Congress authorize the
spending of money. That money is
taxpayer dollars, and in order to ensure
that the people have a voice as to how
their money is being spent, Congress must
create a bill and send it to the President
before funding can proceed. If, however,
Congress does not agree on a bill or the
President vetoes it and the deadline for
the bill's approval expires, some elements
of the government shut down, since
money is unavailable to pay the
employees.
In this particular case, the Republicancontrolled House of Representatives
generated a bill that would fund all parts
of the government except the Affordable
Care Act. Their proposals have varied,
from removing the medical device tax to
delaying the mandate for a year. The
Democrat-controlled Senate has decided
not to pass this bill until funding for the
ACA is included. The President also would
likely veto a bill that did not fund the ACA.
Because of this political divide, Congress
did not agree on a bill to send the
President, and the government shut down.
NOVEMBER 2013