Government shutdown is over; what you should know
Ryan Scott
The failure of Congress to pass a budget or any sort of continuing resolution for 2014 resulted in a shutdown of the government that lasted more than two weeks.
This was the first government shutdown to take place in 17 years and lasted from October 1-16.
Republicans offered up solutions prior to the shutdown that involved defunding the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
The health care marketplace became open to the public on the same day that the shutdown began.
The website where citizens can register for insurance, healthcare.gov, has seen some issues in its first weeks of operation.
Users reported difficulty being able to create an account as well as insurance agencies reporting that applications received were sometimes incomplete and therefore could not be filed.
Brian Dillie, a political science instructor at Mesa Community College feels that two overlapping issues are what lead to the shutdown.
“Congress has failed to pass a budget in the last four of five years and the sequestration has led to across-the-board cuts,” Dillie said.
He went on to elaborate that Congress has a constitutional obligation to pass a federal budget and has failed to do so which has led to the across-the-board cuts as opposed to cuts that would have otherwise been decided in a budget.
“The problem is that Congress is outraged that the Congress spent more money than the Congress allows the Congress to spend,” Dillie said, trying to point out how ridiculous the situation is.
“This is not Obamacare, this is health care reform that the US has needed for quite some time,” said Alex Cohen, a student at Northern Arizona University, who disagreed with the Republicans trying to defund the program.
“I feel the shutdown is reflection of the inefficiency of a bipartisan system,” Cohen added.
She also went on to say that with the shutdown directly impacted geologists because organizations such as the National Science Foundation were shut down, preventing aid for research during the 16 day period.
During the shutdown, all of the national parks such as the Grand Canyon and non-essential government entities were closed.
According to the National Parks Service, millions were lost in national parks revenue in addition to the billions of dollars that were lost in economic output during that time period.
“The American people are completely fed up with Washington,” said President Obama in a speech after a bill was passed just hours before the default deadline.
The Republican party failed to defund Obamacare, meaning that every citizen is still legally responsible for providing themselves with healthcare.
Those who do not have health care for more than three months out of the year starting next year will be subject to penalties that will become more significant over time.
For students, there are options such as the healthcare options provided by MCC and the ability to stay on their parent’s policy until the age of 26.
Local organizations such as the Arizona PIRG Education Fund are available to help students who are seeking a better understanding of their options.
For more information on the Affordable Care Act got to www.hhs.gov
