Over the weekend, Congress put on a show for the American people—one that displayed the very worst characteristics of our elected representatives. Political discussions turned into screaming matches, filled with personal attacks and factual errors. What caused the chaos?
The arguments stemmed from the inability of Congress to pass a continuing resolution to fund the federal government. Due to this failure, the federal government has been shut down. Let’s be sure we are clear what this is really about. It’s about stopping a law that will ensure that 129 million Americans living with pre-existing conditions can get proper health care coverage. It’s about defunding a law that was found constitutional by the Supreme Court. It’s about preventing a law that will allow 14 million currently uninsured individuals to get health care coverage by 2014.
Republicans in the House were so desperate to delay—or, in some cases, completely defeat—the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that they were willing to take the country hostage. They did so by including language in all of the funding bills that would seek to render the ACA ineffective. The ironic part of all of this? As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) admitted in August, shutting down the government does not slow or stop the implementation of the ACA. The GOP’s refusal to accept reality has led to a growing list of victims who are forced to bear the brunt of the consequences when the Republicans attempt to use funding bills as tools for negotiation. When backed into a corner, House Republicans attack certain programs, many of which are designed to protect those who are most vulnerable in our society. Let’s take a quick look at just a few of the programs impacted by the government shutdown.
Scientific research will take a drastic hit. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it will be limited in its capacity to identify outbreaks of infectious diseases; and, just in time for flu season, the CDC will not be able to support its annual flu program. Less than 6 percent of the total employees at the Department of Education will remain at work, slowing the processing of Pell Grants and student loans. The Department of Homeland Security will shut down its E-Verify program, preventing employers from checking on the legal status of potential employees. Because it is not considered as “essential,” the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children—a program that 9 million Americans rely on for food assistance—will be at risk of completely shutting down. Approximately half—800,000 people—of the Department of Defense’s civilian employees will be furloughed. As President Obama said in a statement on Monday: “What, of course, will not be furloughed are the bills that they have to pay—their mortgages, their tuition payments, their car notes.”
And, though a small inconvenience in contrast to the programs listed above, all national parks, Smithsonian museums, and certain visitor’s centers, such as the Statue of Liberty, will be closed.
The Chamber of Commerce, typically a Republican ally, wrote in a letter to Congress: “It is not in the best interest of the U.S. business community or the American people to risk even a brief government shutdown that might trigger disruptive consequences or raise new policy uncertainties washing over the U.S. economy.”
It’s hard to quantify exactly what the cost might be for the country, but Monday’s dropping stock prices already indicate uncertainty within the market. Economists agree that a government shutdown will significantly impair the economy, with estimates that the lost pay from furloughed workers alone will cost the economy $1 billion per week. Mark Zandi, a prominent economist, predicts that a short shutdown will cut 0.3-percentage point off economic growth, and he warned that a shutdown that lasted a month “would likely precipitate another recession.” House Speaker John Boehner declared this week: “It’s time for the Senate to listen to the American people, just like the House has listened to the American people, and pass a one-year delay of Obamacare and a permanent repeal of the medical device tax.” What world is he living in? A poll released in September found that just 6 percent of registered voters support delaying or defunding the ACA.
We are witnessing a civil war within the Republican Party. Tea Party extremists have managed to sway many within the Republican Party to adopt tactics that are irresponsible and irrational. Yet, some conservatives recognize that these tactics will not be successful. Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) joined the growing number of Republicans urging their colleagues to stop holding the country hostage when he said of the House GOP’s tactics: “There isn’t anybody that thinks that Obamacare is going to get defunded. It cannot happen…We were elected to govern—you don’t govern by shutting down the government.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Christine Dickason is a junior Public Policy Leadership major from Collierville, TN.
