What Recent Senate Disagreement Will Mean For Our Country
By: Finn Konary
Benefits cut, duties delayed, and many Federal employees are left without jobs. The American country is left in rough shape with a stagnant government. Recently, American officials have been at odds with each other and the deadlines for the bills that fund our nation. A lot of this has to do with increasing the debt ceiling: an amount of money the American government can borrow. The debt ceiling must be raised constantly to meet the demands of the government’s many programs and other organizations. Otherwise, the government shuts down. The political divide in America touches nearly every issue, from foreign to domestic policy; it also has a high probability of leading the country into a catastrophic shutdown, which will have a regrettable effect.
A government shutdown would be very undesirable for the individual, the community and the nation as whole, by worsening many Americans’ quality of life. Congress inability to agree on a spending plan would likely incur a government shutdown. Although some government agencies would remain open such as, public safety services have historically remained available, like law enforcement and border services, other agencies would be affected, and each would experience the shutdown differently. The Food and Drug Administration would experience a delay for inspections of products. Medicare might turn down applicants. Social Security would halt card insurance. Finally, Transportation Security Administration employees would have to work with no pay, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would be unable to send out food stamps.
While a government shutdown does not mean the country will fall apart, it does mean that many Americans do not get the benefits they need to survive from the Federal government and therefore their quality of life will deteriorate. This includes those that apply for Medicare and people who rely on food stamps for meals.
The division in America and its senate continues to widen and the disagreement on issues could very well lead to a government shutdown. Nobody wants a government shutdown, however, Congress has gotten closer and closer to the deadline where a shutdown or partial shutdown would take effect. Recently, they passed the bill within hours of the deadline. The most recent near-shutdown was due to a disagreement on funding for Homeland Security. When the package was proposed, a coalition of Republicans said, “Therefore, we ask you to join us in rejecting the appropriations package (or anything similar) slated to be before the House that will directly fund these disastrous policies, and choose instead to stand against this assault on the American people,”. Eventually, it passed. Earlier talks have been around funding and aid for Ukraine and other allies. Chuck Shumer, Senate Majority referenced, “extreme hard right, who want to burn everything down.” as being particularly hard to agree with. The leaders are constantly disagreeing due to the complex nature of the bipartisan government and the variety of checks and balances to pass bills, coupled with our divided party lines. The frequent disagreement within the U.S. government, especially around funding, is becoming more and more alarming the closer they get to shutting down and threatening the quality of life of Americans. Eventually, this will lead to a scenario where it actually does shut down, and it isn’t “saved by the bell” like the previous times.
America’s democracy is threatened from the inability of our leaders to agree on what the government should spend its money on stemming from more disagreement surrounding the debt ceiling. This dispute will lead to a shutdown of many programs that every citizen relies on to survive. The American nation must trust in our elected officials to avert any kind of crisis, and if not, they must be held accountable. It all starts with setting aside the differences between politicians and political parties in general and recognizing the common goal of running the country effectively. Alternatively, removing the debt ceiling or working harder to relieve some of the national debt would take the pressure off averting government shutdowns and passing funding packages.
