Government Shutdown Began Midnight of Friday
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
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This was the much awaited Senate vote on government funding, to determine whether there will be a shutdown by midnight on Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. Apparently what President Trump and Senator Schumer have discussed and agreed to during lunch was later notified by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to be not valid, reported by CBS, below:
In addition to our previous post on Looming Government Shutdown After Friday (1/19/2018) Midnight, allow me to share with you some of the background information regarding U.S. Government Shutdown 2018 and what it means.
The United States federal government shutdown of 2018 is a government shutdown that began at midnight EST on January 20, 2018. The shutdown stemmed from disputes over the extension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy, and therefore whether those covered under the program should face deportation. There was also a dispute over whether funding should be allocated towards building a Mexico–United States border wall, a keystone policy during the Donald Trump presidential campaign.
This is the first shutdown in United States history to occur while both chambers of Congress as well as the White House are controlled by the same party. The shutdown began on the first anniversary of Donald Trump taking office.
Background
The U.S. government’s 2018 fiscal year began on October 1, 2017. Because regular appropriations bills to fund the government had not been passed, Congress funded the government through a series of temporary continuing resolutions. On September 8, 2017, President Donald Trump signed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 and Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017 (H.R. 601), extending temporary funding until December 8, 2017. Two additional continuing resolutions were later passed: the Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.J.Res. 123) funded the government through December 22, 2017, and the Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.R. 1370) funded it through January 19, 2018.
Shutdown
As of January 19, 2018, the Extension of Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.R. 195) was under consideration to extend funding through February 16, 2018. The bill passed the House on January 18, but a cloture vote in the Senate failed 50–49, with 60 votes required, at around 10:45 pm EST, shortly before the midnight expiration of the previous continuing resolution. Forty-five Republicans were joined by five Democrats in voting yes to the cloture motion on the resolution, while four Republicans voted against cloture. This continuing resolution, supported by Republican Leadership, included a six-year authorization for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and delayed several healthcare taxes stemming from the Affordable Care Act. Democrats preferred a shorter resolution lasting a few days, intending for negotiations to incorporate an extension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy.
Effects
The Trump administration announced its intention to minimize the impact of the shutdown. National Park Service (NPS) facilities will generally remain open, although staff will still be furloughed and some areas of parks may be closed if the lack of staff requires it.
Some agencies may stay open for a limited time by using unspent funds from sources other than annual appropriations, or using fee revenue.
Unlike in previous shutdowns, the Washington, D.C. government will continue operating through the shutdown, due to a provision enacted in the previous year’s appropriations legislation, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017.
Response
In Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted on Monday to Thursday before the Friday vote, 48% of respondents said Trump and Republicans in Congress are mainly responsible, 28% said Democrats in Congress, and 18% said both are equally responsible. For comparison, in a 2013 Washington Post/ABC News poll published after the 2013 shutdown, 53% of respondents said Republicans in Congress were mainly responsible for the shutdown, 29% said Obama, and 15% said both are equally responsible.
In a statement, the White House blamed the shutdown on Senate Democrats and said that it would not negotiate with the Democrats on immigration. The President’s planned trip to Mar-a-Lago in Florida was postponed hours prior to the shutdown. The hashtag #trumpshutdown became the top trending hashtag worldwide on January 20, 2018.
In reference to his meeting with Donald Trump, Chuck Schumer said in a statement that “We discussed all of the major outstanding issues, we made some progress, but we still have a good number of disagreements. The discussions will continue.”
Depending on who one talks to, some refer to this government shutdown as Trump Shutdown while others refer to it as Schumer Shutdown.
It is interesting when an old footage was revealed, indicating that Donald Trump thought, in 2013, that it would have been the top’s (President’s) fault if the government shuts down, below:
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
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