Now In Day 34 I know a lot of people have been wondering about the government shut down and what it means for all American citizens. Well we are going to tackle some of the questions people are asking in hope to give a clear understanding of what it means to be in a government shutdown and who and what it affects, So let's start by understanding government shutdowns. The Shut Down explained by Wikipedia goes as followed,
Under the separation of powers created by the United States Constitution, the United States Congress has the sole power of the purse and responsibility for appropriating government funds. Like other bills, appropriations must be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Upon passage of a final version by both houses, they go to the President of the United States. If the President signs the bills, they become law. If instead, the President vetoes them, they go back to Congress, where the veto can (in rare instances) be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses.
The exact details of which government functions stop during a shutdown is determined by the Office of Management and Budget. "Emergency personnel" continue to be employed, including active duty (Title 10) military, federal law enforcement agents, doctors and nurses working in federal hospitals, and air traffic controllers. For the Department of Defense, at least half of the civilian workforce, and the full-time, dual-status military technicians in the US National Guard and traditional Guardsmen (those on Title 32 status) are furloughed and not paid while the shutdown is in effect. Members of Congress continue to be paid because their pay cannot be altered except by direct law. Mail delivery is not affected as it is self-funded and the funds are not appropriated by Congress. Programs that are funded by laws other than annual appropriations acts (like Social Security) may also be affected by a funding gap if program execution relies on activities that receive annually appropriated funding.
Shutdowns in the past have also affected the Washington, D.C. municipal government, closing schools and suspending utilities such as garbage collection.
Now that we understand the cause and effect of what is a goverment shutdown lets go deeper into the shutdown and what is and isn't affected by the goerment shutdown.
What Is and Isn’t Affected by the Government Shutdown