How Will a Shutdown Affect Government Workers?

President Trump has threatened to go through with a government shutdown if Congress does not come to an agreement on his $5 billion dollar boarder wall proposal. The shutdown would go into effect a few days before Christmas, on December 21st. Congress will convene on the 19th to try and come to some sort of agreement on funding, with the proposed boarder wall at the top of docket. Funding for the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and Transportation will all run out by the 21st. Trump has stated his intent to go through with the shutdown, in spite of the headaches to government workers.

Trump has demanded that the wall is a necessity to boarder security, and that the full $5 billion would be the only amount acceptable for such a wall. While most in congress agree that boarder security is a priority, many Democrats do not believe spending so much on a wall will help tighten security and have moved to block the proposal. With the shutdown seemingly imminent if the two sides cannot agree to anything, many non-essential government functions will cease for the holidays, leaving many workers without pay until congress can reach an agreement. While airport security, air traffic control, and amtrack workers will still be on to keep holiday travel running smoothly, delays and unexpected issue are sure to be exacerbated by the shutdown. On top of that, many workers in essential government positions will actually have to work for no pay, which may be as much as over 420,000 people. These workers will be compensated after the shutdown, but the inconvenience is sure to cause issues.

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5 years ago