Countdown to Chaos: US Government Shutdown Looms

• The fourth shutdown in a decade threatens the U.S. as Congress misses the funding deadline.
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• Potential impacts on air travel, national parks, and government services.
• Most government employees face unpaid furloughs, affecting their livelihoods.

The United States faces the imminent threat of yet another government shutdown as Congress is set to miss the midnight Saturday deadline to secure funding for federal agencies.

This marks the fourth shutdown in the past decade, with potential widespread impacts on air travel, national parks, and even marriage license issuance.

The shutdown will result in most government employees being furloughed without pay, and critical nutrition programs will come to a halt.

The deadlock stems from a faction of hard-right lawmakers in the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a narrow majority.

In contrast, Democrats control the Senate by a single seat. Bipartisan support is necessary in both chambers before reaching President Joe Biden’s desk to pass spending bills and keep the government operational.

However, the rebel faction of right-wing legislators, buoyed by vocal support from former President Donald Trump, has disrupted negotiations in the House. They are demanding substantial spending cuts, including an end to U.S. funding for the war in Ukraine.

These hard-liners have thwarted Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s attempts to guide necessary legislation through the House. While McCarthy could seek Democratic votes to pass a spending bill, doing so could trigger an attempt by the rebel faction to remove him from his leadership position.

Furthermore, McCarthy has refused to consider a short-term funding bill making progress in the Senate, which includes $6 billion for Ukraine and $6 billion for disaster relief. This bill represents a last-ditch effort to prevent a prolonged shutdown and enjoys strong bipartisan support in the Senate.

Recently, House Republicans’ short-term funding proposal, featuring stringent border policies favored by the hardliners, failed to pass, with up to 21 party members opposing it. In a closed-door meeting, McCarthy emphasized that Republicans must choose between the House and Senate bills to avert blame for a shutdown. He is also exploring options, including a two-week stopgap funding measure that might exclude support for Ukraine.

However, the rebel lawmakers remain steadfast, insisting on a long-term spending bill that addresses their priorities.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized Mr. McCarthy for introducing a “profoundly extreme” proposal that stood no chance of passing in both houses of Congress.

“The Speaker needs to abandon his doomed mission of trying to please [Republican] extremists,” he said.

Janet Yellen issued a warning, highlighting that “critical government functions,” such as providing loans to farmers and small businesses, conducting food and workplace safety inspections, and carrying out essential infrastructure projects, would all face disruptions during the shutdown.

Government shutdowns occur when Congress fails to approve approximately 30% of the federal budget required before the start of each fiscal year, typically on October 1st.

As a result, starting Monday, hundreds of thousands of federal workers, excluding those categorized as “essential,” will be furloughed without pay.

Many of these employees live paycheck to paycheck, according to the American Federation of Government Employees.

Over 1.4 million active-duty military personnel and tens of thousands of air traffic controllers will continue to work without receiving pay.

This development poses particular challenges for federal workers with student loan debt, as loan repayments for more than 40 million individuals will resume on Sunday after being paused since the pandemic’s onset.

The shutdown’s immediate impact will also be felt by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which assists seven million pregnant women and new mothers with grocery aid.

A prolonged shutdown could disrupt the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as “food stamps,” serving 40 million low-income Americans, and hinder the implementation of a new initiative to provide free breakfast and lunch to students in high-need school districts.

Museums, national parks, research facilities, and community health centers with federal government oversight or funding are expected to cease operations during the shutdown.

Furthermore, the government agency responsible for disaster relief and recovery is currently taking measures to conserve funds in case a shutdown coincides with an above-average Atlantic hurricane season.

The recurrence of budget disputes causing such disruptions has been criticized as a reflection of Washington’s increasing dysfunction and partisan divisions.

The most recent government shutdown, which occurred under President Trump in 2019, lasted a record 34 days, resulting in an $11 billion reduction in economic output, as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office, and federal workers relying on food banks for support.

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