A government shutdown happens when nonessential government offices can no longer remain open due to lack of funding. The lack of funding usually happens when there is a delay in the approval of the federal budget. The shutdown continues until parties can reach a compromise and a budget bill passes.

The last government shutdown, that began on December 22, 2018, is due to a disagreement, in the budget, for the President’s wall. Congress had offered President Trump $1.7 billion towards building his border wall, but he had a different amount in mind. He asked for $5.7 billion and when he was denied the money, he declared he’d be “proud to shutdown the government for border security.”

This will be the 21st government shut down since first one, after the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act was passed in 1976.

Even though some people probably didn’t even notice the inconvenience of the partial shut down, around 800,000 people lived without income.

When the shut down was announced, I expected to feel effects directly. Since I still saw police and got my mail everyday, I didn’t really think anything had actually changed because of it. But even though our mail still came, this didn’t mean that everything was just fine. Many things stopped running as usual, such as Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA.

Other things that had been affected by the government shut down were:

Airport security

During the shutdown, the airport workers who are responsible for screening passengers and their luggage, were out of work. The number of sick calls continuously rose, and more and more people quit their jobs all together given their lack of an income.

National parks

Some parks were shutdown, and others were still open. Some of the parks that remained open decided on a partial closure due to the fact that they were under staffed.

Public health and science

Inspections of chemical factories, power plants, water treatment plants and other industrial places stopped because the Environmental Protection Agency had to send home most of its employees in charge of inspecting pollution and making sure laws were followed.

Some government research labs had also been shut down, and its researchers were sent home. Funding for the research had been affected by the shut down as well.

Other services have been shut down, such as the Fish and Wildlife Service, National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Food inspection and financial aid

The Food and Drug Administration stopped its normal inspections of foods with a high risk of contamination.

Food assistance programs for women, children and Native Americans were still operating on the state level until the funding provided by the federal government runs out. After funds run out it will shut down too until the shutdown is officially over.

The Internal Revenue Service

Most IRS operations stopped. Only 12% of the employees were still working. In an effort to not interfere with annual tax returns, the White House said it would bring back the other IRS employees, but it was unclear if they had the authority to make that happen.

Law enforcement and immigration courts

Many workers from the F.B.I., Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Prisons, Customs and Border Protection, Coast Guard, the Secret Service and others, were out of work because of the shut down.

Even though immigration court was backlogged before, after the government announced the shutdown, the courts also shut down. No cases were being moved forward and people will have to continue to wait for their hearing.

With all these services and citizens being affected by the shutdown, it’s sad to think our government let it go on as long as it did. It lasted over a month and people were ready for it to be over.

On January 3rd, there was a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, Florida. There were at least eight people injured from this crash and 7 people died. The crash was reported around 3:33pm and it involved two tractor-trailers and a passenger van.

According to FHP Lt. Patrick Riordan, 5 of the victims that died were from the passenger van, and around 59 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled. The injured victims were taken to UF Health Shands Hospital under a trauma alert.

The crash backed up traffic for hours on Interstate 75. A student at Western University, named Nicole Towarek, recalled what she saw by saying, “Black smoke billowed. People were laid out near vehicles, there was long skid marks across the roadway, and emergency workers were just getting to the scene. We kept seeing these little explosions and fire. The heat, it was insane.” A law enforcement helicopter was sent aloft to see if there were any injured victims in the woods, along the crash scene.

The 5 victims from the passenger van were children who were on their way to Disney World according to Riordan. The names were released on January 4th, around 5pm. The children’s names were: Joel Cloud, Jeremiah Warren, Cara Descent, Brieana Descant, and Cierra Bordelan. The van’s driver, Amy Joffrion, was critically injured but survived the crash.

Disney’s spokesperson, Jacquee Wahler, said, “There are no words to convey the sorrow we feel for those involved in yesterday’s tragedy. We extend heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones impacted by this tragic accident.” There were around 7 other children in the car that were injured and taken to the hospital.

The investigation determined that the collisions started around 3:40pm. The northbound tractor-trailer truck, driven by 59 year old Steve Holland, struck the northbound car, driven by Robyn Rattray. Both of the vehicles flew into the guardrail, across the median, and into the southbound lanes where they had struck the passenger van.

Douglas Bolkema was a passenger in the northbound tractor-trailer truck. A spokesperson for a Florida Department of Transportation stated that it was too soon to say whether the guardrail failed or the impact was too great for the barrier when he was asked about the guardrail.

About a week after the crash, the mother of Jeremiah Warren filed a lawsuit at the Palm Beach County Circuit Court. Attorney Joseph Fred found, as he was investigating Holland and Bolkema, that Steve Holland has been receiving traffic citations since 2003, including speeding and careless driving in: Palm Beach County, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Virginia.

In the lawsuit, Fred blames Holland’s employer, Eagle Express Lines and New Prime Inc., and he is also suing Robyn Rattray. Officials at Eagle Express Lines were not immediately available for comment but had stated on their Facebook page that the company was devastated by the crash and will cooperating fully with investigation. They also stated, “Our thoughts and prayers are with families affected by this incident.”

Going into winter break, the government had been shut down. This was the 3rd shutdown of 2018, and it is now continuing into 2019. The main reason for this shutdown is the funding for President Trump’s border wall.

Trump wants $5.7 million dollars to fund the border wall, but it is not being approved. His only solution for this was to shut down the government.

Government shutdowns affect the people of the United States in many ways. Many agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Disease, Department of Defense, and Congress are all affected by this shutdown. Also, people on government aid and welfare will have scaled back benefits.

Luckily, over 150 Veteran Affairs hospitals will stay open along with most national parks (but with no working employees and buildings, such as information and research centers, will be closed).

As of early morning, on January 4th, 2019, House Democrats voted to reopen the government without the funding of the border wall. The bill would reopen funding for 8 closed United States departments. Congress would still keep 9 other departments closed, along with no funding for the wall.