Congress once again failed for the 10th time to pass a bill to fund the government on Oct. 16. This came after the federal government entered a shutdown on Oct. 1 as Republicans and Democrats failed to compromise on a spending bill prior to the end of the fiscal year. A week after the shutdown began, about 750,000 federal workers were on unpaid leave with operations stopped in many research centers, schools and national parks. Airports nationwide have also reported staff shortages among air traffic controllers, who go unpaid during government shutdowns.
One of the main funding disputes between Republicans and Democrats revolves around renewing enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of December.
Former U.S. President Joe Biden helped expand the ACA subsidies, which U.S. President Barack Obama established in 2010. The subsidies provide health insurance to people who cannot obtain coverage through their jobs or other welfare programs. Currently, the ACA subsidies cover over 24 million people’s health insurance. According to The Hill, three to four million of these people could lose their health insurance if the government does not renew the enhanced subsidies.
The Republican Party remains split over the issue; while some are in favor of the extension of the program’s credit, others champion its exclusion from the latest government budget, citing government budget strains that have reached historic heights. However, as the Republican Party remains nine votes short of passing its stopgap funding bill to end the government shutdown, the Democratic Party has negotiating power to advocate for the extension’s inclusion.
Masse-Martin NEH Professor of Political Science Zachary Peskowitz emphasized that the shutdown was unsurprising given recent events.
“They weren’t able to come to an agreement, so they chose to shut down the government,” Peskowitz said.
Peskowitz also highlighted the political purpose of U.S. government shutdowns.
“The goal is to try to achieve policy objectives by either threatening a bad outcome that your opponent doesn’t like, like shutting down the government, or trying to change public opinion,” Peskowitz said.
However, Peskowitz underscored how this shutdown could be different, especially given U.S. President Donald Trump’s aim to reduce the size of the government by firing federal employees.
“Most shutdowns in the past might have had some political consequences and short-term economic consequences, but not dramatic ones,” Peskowitz said. “The wild card here is, will there be reductions in force in the federal government? Will it be layoffs? We don’t know.”
Associate Professor of Political Science Miguel Rueda shared a similar view on the unpredictable nature of the shutdown.
“In the Trump administration, there are people more willing to see how this is going to play out,” Rueda said. “They’re less afraid of the potential consequences.”
Young Democrats of Emory Treasurer Raleigh Maxwell (28C) explained that healthcare budget cuts have sent shockwaves across the Emory community, particularly for those who the ACA funding cuts would impact.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people who have family members reliant on health insurance, who have done the research and know that if these subsidies expire, that the insurance costs will increase even more than 100%,” Maxwell said.
As a call to action for the Emory community, Maxwell said he wanted to remind students of the importance of political engagement and active action to keep Democratic voices heard.
“There are members of Congress, Republican members of Congress, who would rather shut down the entire government than fund your health insurance,” Maxwell said. “It really is that simple. That is the message that Emory students need to understand, and they need to apply that when they are speaking with lawmakers. They should call them out.”
Rueda noted a silver lining, emphasizing that the shutdown demonstrates the strength of the American government’s system of checks and balances.
“There are some checks,” Rueda said. “That means that the current administration, whoever is in power, needs to secure some support from the opposition to increase that spending.”
