On January 20, United States Congress was under pressure to decide where to place money for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), general immigration policy and DREAMers, and President Trump’s wall, among other funding issues. Most republicans wanted defense funds bolstered and a complete elimination of DACA. Some were in favor of funding for Trump’s wall as well. Most democrats wanted money allocated to disaster aid and for DACA to be reinstated. Due to the indecisiveness of Congress, the government shut down on January 20. A government shutdown is when all nonessential aspects of the government stop working. National parks close, and large numbers of educational employees and urban development employees are furloughed. Essentials such as the military, postal service, and social security services remain open.
Republicans also targeted Democrats for attempting to cut defense funds which would go toward the wall and military. Trump stayed out of the decision, yet he still has made it unclear what he personally will decide about immigration. Over the 3-day shutdown, Senator John McCain argued that dealing with the budget is drastically urgent at the moment because it will directly affect the military. The only budget address the Senate was ultimately able to create was a short-term budget deal to reopen the government and fund it for three more weeks until February 8 (which was the long-term budget bill deadline). Although the Democrats managed to reopen the government, the Republicans decidedly “won” the shutdown. Democrats lost steam arguing against Trump’s funding for the wall, and they did not have a conclusive vote on the protection of DREAMers.
The United States government then turned to February 8 as the official deadline to create a long-term spending bill. If it was to be passed, a few things were to happen: the government planned to allocate money to areas such as defense/non-defense, disaster aid, and the opioid crisis. However, another shutdown loomed in the fear that the government would again be indecisive. It turns out that both such things happened on the 8, a shutdown as well as the signing of a bill.
Moorestown Friends School history teacher Eliza McFeely discussed the volatile state of the government before February 8 and and was wary of the government shutdown before it even started: “I think Congress is wary of another shutdown; they tend to reflect badly on the lawmakers, and they really make it difficult for government offices to get their work done. I hope there is not a shutdown, but in the present political climate I wouldn’t rule it out.”
WordsWorth asked McFeely about how she was personally affected by the January shutdown. She said, “My husband works for the U.S. Geological Survey, so he was furloughed for the day. He still had to go in and close down the office. The really ridiculous thing is that furloughed workers 1) can’t do the work they need to do and 2) the government ends up paying them anyway, so taxpayers pay a lot for every shutdown, both in loss of productivity and in the time and money it takes to shut things down and open them up again, which again impacts productivity.” Along with the Senate, McFeely yearned to see the creation of a long-term spending bill on February 8, hoping to see the past shutdown’s issues addressed.
When February 8 arrived, Senator Rand Paul called for an amendment to “keep Congress under strict budget caps” and to remove a debt cap from the future bill. Paul held up decision-making until midnight with Democrats and GOP leaders in opposition, effectively creating a midnight shutdown on the night of the 8th. Senator Mitch McConnell specifically attempted to move forward from Rand Paul’s call for a vote on the amendment. He subsequently ignored Paul’s call for vote on an amendment and drafted a bill which the President was to agree with, getting it ready to be voted upon.
Before 2 o’clock in the morning, the Senate voted in favor of the bill 71-28.The House voted at around 5:30 AM with the tally coming out to 240-186. Democrats had actively voiced their distaste over the indecision about DACA throughout the process, yet 73 Democrats voted in favor of the bill which entailed decisions for funding outside of DACA. It included funding for the pentagon and domestic programs and almost $90 billion in disaster aid for areas such as Texas, Florida, California, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The US government’s debt cap will remain for another year, and the government as a whole will remain open as a result of the budget deal until March 23.
Although neither side is completely satisfied, Democrats and Republicans alike have been placated due to certain aspects of the new budget deal. Republicans are championing the benefits to the military with the new funds to defense. While Democrats have to pay large sums from their districts to fund this bill, they are optimistic about funding improvement to education, infrastructure, the drug abuse fight, and medical research. Is aid to the middle class on the way? It is possible.
From here to the future, both parties look continuously on to Trump to make decisions on DACA, as the March 5 deadline for DACA has just recently passed with no action. The next big date is March 23, the deadline to create the federal agency funding bill.
