The Forum

As the longest government shutdown in history dragged on, consequences ranging from National Parks’ Facility Shutdowns to families losing resources such as SNAP & WIC became apparent. 

Americans were questioning whether to trust the federal services we rely on to travel safely, feed our families, or the workers themselves as they stretch their finances across three missed paychecks. As a federal worker myself the whole situation leaves me wondering. 

The reason is not as complex as readers might think. A parliamentary procedure known as a Senate fili buster allows the Senate minority to block or delay a bill or resolution. Basically, the recent shutdown is the product of a partisan issue regarding the extension of the Affordable Care Act to keep healthcare premiums low and opposing cuts to rural hospitals. Investment in Climate Care initiatives as well as expansions of social safety net programs regarding housing and childcare were among the major focal points that our Senators could not agree on, including in this year's budget.

There is a whirlwind of misinformation surrounding the shutdown implying that democrats were dragging out the shutdown to give illegal immigrants free healthcare. This is purposefully untruthful. This argument refers to “lawfully present” immigrants who are going through legal processing. Democrats would attempt to restore that right and enable them to still have access to healthcare. It does not enable illegal immigrants access to free healthcare. 

There is also a federal law requiring that all hospitals provide emergency care to patients regardless of immigration status. Hospitals receive state and federal reimbursements for this. However, Republicans sought to reduce these reimbursements and democrats were in favor of raising reimbursements, which has been misconstrued as healthcare benefits for illegal immigrants. 

In recent news, eight democratic senators voted with the GOP in a major upset. Negotiations have shown a promise from Senate Majority Leader John Thune to vote on ACA by the second week of December as well as the guarantee of unlawfully terminated federal workers to return to work with backpay. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson has declared he will not bring the measure to the vote. 

I implore all Forum readers to research the facts. Elevate your frustration to more than conversation because, as always, change starts with you.