The United State’s government began the longest shutdown of its 242 year existence on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. It has continued as of Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. This closure affected around 25 percent of normal functions of the federal government, altering various facets of everyday life for millions, including students and their families at Southern Adventist University.
The shutdown is the result of a lack of funding for government programs due to failure of Congress and President Donald Trump approving a budget, mainly in relation to the issue of border security.
President Trump has requested over $5 billion for the construction of a border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, a request that has been denied continuously by the now Democratic majority run House of Representatives.
Because of the shutdown, many agencies are only running “essential” functions. Thousands that work for federal run museums, national parks and environmental and food inspection services are included in the lists of furloughed employees. Parts of the government that are still running such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the military.
The shutdown has been also been accompanied by longer lines at some airports as many Travel Security Administration (TSA) workers remain at work without pay, while others have called in sick, according to a report by CNN.
Those applying for passports, such as junior communication major Cameron Reel, have to wait at the U.S. Department of State, one of the affected agencies.
“I can’t get my passport renewed, so I can’t leave the country to be a Student Missionary,” Reel said. “I’m planning on going to Ebeye in the Marshall Islands next school year [2019-2020].”
Some students at Southern have parents that work for the federal government and commented on the personal effects of the shutdown.
“My dad is a civil engineer with the U.S. Forest Service and has been out of work,” said Autumn Dunzweiler, junior mass communication major.
“My dad works for the VA [Veteran Affairs] and had his pay raise frozen,” said Everett Scott, junior computer information systems major.
“My pops works at a prison and hasn’t been paid but has been going to work,” said Tahkai Martin, sophomore psychology major.
For students worried about financial aid, the Department of Education is currently fully funded. The only problem that might arise may come with tools such as the IRS retrieval tool, which helps users filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It may not work since the IRS is not fully functional.
For more updates, check out our website at southern.edu/accent.
Image credit: Danyelle Elysee