How the Government
Shutdown
affects you
For some, it's an emotional punch to the gut. For others, the consequences could be truly life-changing.
Here are some of those stories:
The cancer patient
Michelle Langbehn, 30, of Auburn, California has a rare form of cancer known as fibrosarcoma and says she was within days of getting approved for a clinical trial at the National Institute of Heath that could potentially save her life. But the shutdown has meant the NIH isn't accepting new test patients.
"I am furious that the Republicans in the House have chosen to shut down the government while attempting to repeal or change unrelated laws," she says. "With the NIH being shut down, they are denying or delaying potentially life saving treatments to Americans in need of a miracle. I speak for everyone battling cancer when I say we don't have time to wait."
The AmeriCorps volunteer
Gabrielle McNichol, 18, of Philadelphia, is a babysitter and also works as a recruiter at a nonprofit group. She has been conditionally cleared to serve as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Iowa starting in February, but, because of the shutdown, her future is on hold
"If this doesn't go over well and the government stays closed and cannot agree on a fiscal budget, ... AmeriCorps ... may not have the funds to open up the ... Winter 2014 program to the new members who are currently trying to get cleared; like me," she says. "This also means, I will have to figure out what college I will have to go to, what I can afford in this short notice, what field I want to study in, and when I will start. It will be a very hard and stressful process. I've modeled my whole future around the AmeriCorps."
The disabled veteran
Robin A. Davidson, 57, is a disabled veteran and a retired Navy reservist in northern California who was supposed to have surgery this week at Travis Air Force Base. Because of the shutdown, it was canceled. For now, it means she gets no relief from the constant pain which is "significantly impacting my ability to work."
"I joined the military because I believed in our country and our government. However, this present situation is disgraceful and sends a horrible message to the rest of the world about what America has become."
The military mom
Lisa Wright of Iron River, Michigan, is the mother of two children under the age of 5. She was injured during active duty in Iraq and receives disability benefits from the Veterans Administration and attends college through a vocational rehabilitation program through the VA.
"This is pathetic," Wright says of the government shutdown. "There is a chance that without my benefits from the VA that we will lose our house and I will lose my vehicle. Thank God we are a two vehicle household. I can't lose my Voc Rehab benefits or my disability without drowning. I hope that my light at the end of the tunnel isn't going to burn out, and if it does I only hope that my husband and children and I can make it."
The change-seeker
A.J. Olsen of Willamina, Oregon, is a small business owner who favors the shutdown and believes it will serve as a wake-up call for the nation.
"It's time the government take lessons like we the everyday people do, and struggle like we do, they put their pants on just like we do. One leg at a time," he says. "This shutdown is just a struggle like we all have to go through, so the cushy jobs of the government now don't have the same stability they have had ... they have only suffered two days and counting, if every one of them had to stand in the welfare line like I did, and go thru the same BS I did, they would change the systems, overhaul them."