As of Monday, October 13, the United States Government has been shut down for 13 days. For two weeks, lawmakers and Congress have been unable to reach a resolution on government funding and have kept the government in a shutdown period. As the shutdown extends further and further, the impact on government services and workers has increasingly become more severe.
From the beginning of the shutdown, government workers have been affected the worst, with many having to continue work without pay for essential services, and hundreds of thousands of workers being furloughed until the government is reopened. With the shutdown lasting as long as it has, these workers have had to survive two weeks without pay and little hope of returning to work.
Recently, on October 10th, at least 4,000 civil service workers were reported to be laid off instead of being furloughed like most other workers. The current administration has warned that more layoffs may be on the horizon.
Due to the shutdown, flights have been increasingly delayed as the airlines are experiencing issues with air-traffic control staff. This issue is only expected to get worse as more workers are laid off or furloughed.
Additionally, the Smithsonian has been forced to close all 21 of its museums and the National Zoo due to a lack of funding and workers. The closing of the zoo occurred on Saturday, October 12th. For those concerned, the animals there will still be fed and cared for, an official assures in an official statement from the National Zoo.
As the shutdown continues, the present issues will only get worse and new problems will continue to arise. Hopefully, the lawmakers and representatives in Congress can come to a resolution swiftly before these issues spiral out of control.
