All information is up to date as of Monday, Oct. 27

The U.S. Government was shut down on Oct. 1. This does not mean that the government is not functioning; it simply means that some of its duties are temporarily suspended. Duties are suspended because Congress is the one that decides the budget for the country, and they have not passed the bill to allow the government to spend money. When the government shuts down, about 40% of federal workers go on unpaid leave, affecting about 750,000 people. A government shutdown occurs when Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on how to pass the bill for the government budget. They have to agree on the budget before it can become law. This is the first time that the U.S. Government has shut down in nearly seven years, and the first time it has shut down this decade.

All governmental positions deemed essential will still operate, such as border protection, law enforcement, ICE Agents, hospital care, and air traffic control. Services like the food assistance program, federally funded pre-schools, Smithsonian museums, the CDC, and the NIH will likely be reduced or closed. There could also be travel delays on flights.

“National parks and forests remained open during the last shutdown in 2018, but with few or no staff, which experts said led to a rise in vandalism, littering, and looting of historical sites,” according to the BBC.

Depending on how the bill eventually gets passed, some Americans can see their healthcare cost go up. How long will this last? Well, it depends. The government shutdown in 2018 lasted 35 days, the longest government shutdown in American history. This may affect schools as 87% of the Education Department’s employees are being laid off, about 2,117 people. This has now become the second longest government shutdown in U.S. History. As of Oct. 27, we are now on the 27th day of the government shutdown, and it has no sign of stopping.