The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

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Congress reaches impasse, results in shutdown

It all came to a halt Oct. 1- the government that is. After Congress failed to reach an agreement over the federal budget, programs normally funded were put on hold until an agreement was eventually made Oct. 16 to extended funding to Jan. 15.
In an effort to defund the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, Congressional Republicans refused to pass proposals that funded the program. The universal health care act was signed into law March 2010 and was upheld by the Supreme Court June 2012. Coincidentally going into effect the same day as the government shut down, Obamacare opened its website Oct. 1 for enrollment.
A leading figure for the Tea Party throughout the shutdown was Senator Ted Cruz from Texas. He became the face of the conservative party, rallying other congressional Republicans to fight against the proposals that included funding for Obamacare. But for some Republican party members, Cruz’s efforts were to radical. Republican senators John McCain (AZ) and Richard Burr (NC) publicly spoke of their disapproval of Cruz’s plans, and even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) along with many other Senate Republicans rallied against Cruz’s efforts to defund the law.
“I think that the government shutdown could have been avoided if the two parties were more open to listening to the other’s argument and were willing to compromise,” said Rachel McGrath, senior.
As a result of the government shutdown, all national parks closed down, leaving towns which normally benefit from the tourism without the expected income for the fall season. In addition, over 800,000 federal workers were furloughed, meaning they were temporarily laid off and were legally required to stop working. Once the shutdown ended workers were able to come back to their jobs and the government paid a total of $2 billion to those furloughed.
According to a Gallup poll, as a result of the shutdown the Republican party’s approval rating dropped by 10 percent in the past month and is reported of having an approval rating of just 28 percent, a record for the lowest approval rating for either party since polling began in 1992. The Democratic party’s approval decreased by four percent, leaving them at a 43 percent approval rating.
Discussions over the budget are expected to return December due to the fact that the deal made last month only funds the government until Jan. 15. In an effort to maintain America’s international reputation, Congress must pass the budget smoothly.

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