The Conflict in Washington: Building a Wall or Separating a Nation?
35 days. 800,000 federal employees. 1 conflict.
From Dec. 22, 2018 to Jan. 25, 2019, 800,000 plus federal employees were either forced to stay at home or work without pay during the partial government shutdown that lasted 35 days. Over this period of time, federal employees did not receive two paychecks. With the lack of income, many of the furloughed workers were feeling the pressure of their last dollars, considering part-time work until they were allowed back in their government jobs. Another some thousand of the furloughed employees had to apply for unemployment.
Of the 800,000 federal employees affected by the government shutdown, around 450,000 of them had to work without pay, as certain federal agencies had to recall their employees back into their offices.
Employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) were called back to work without pay at the start of tax season, and thousands of employees working for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) were deemed as essential personnel. There was a backlash to this 35 day government shutdown. Some workers refused to come to work, opting to take shifts at their part-time jobs instead to make ends meet.
Thousands upon thousands of food stamps were issued to federal employees and their families weeks earlier than the normal issue of them. The USDA recalled over two thousand workers to assist to complete tax paperwork and help farmers with their existing loans. Along with the fear of living paycheck to paycheck, investigations on accidents by the National Transportation Safety Board ceased, fire prevention protocols were not carried out, and national parks suffered from lack of upkeep and sanitation.
This government shutdown, the longest recorded government shutdown in United States history, was not just something that happened in Washington. It touched everything, affected everyone. People suffered. United States citizens suffered. And, up until Feb. 14, 2019, the suffering could have continued.
Shutdown ends on January 25, but threat of extension looms over Washington
35 days after the shutdown, the government reopened on Jan. 25, 2019. Federal employees were able to return to work for three weeks, enough time to receive at one paycheck. However, the threat of the government shutting down again continued to loom over their heads.
President Trump announced on Jan. 25 that he had reached a compromise with congressional leaders that the government would reopen for three weeks while more deliberation would happen about funding for a border wall.
What made the shutdown happen in the first place?
Congress and the Trump administration were collectively figuring out where government funds should be allocated to for the upcoming year. Unsurprisingly, Trump and his administration pushed for a significant amount of money- $5.7 billion- to fund the wall at the U.S.’s southern border. Democrats opposed the funding for the border wall.
Neither side would budge. Democrats did not want to fund the border wall, but Trump was not willing to give up the funds he requested to build and patrol the wall.
The next day, Trump partially shutdown the government.
Among other arguments came Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s unwillingness to allow Trump to air the State of the Union address, unless he reopened the government.
The State of the Union: A decision made, an emergency declared
On Feb. 13, 2019, Congress had agreed to give President Trump $1.375 billion, though Conservatives had felt pressured to do so. This bipartisan deal would allow for up to 55 miles of new fencing on the southern border.
As of Friday, Feb. 15, 2019, Trump signed this bipartisan bill, accepting the $1.375 billion for the border wall. However, after weeks of threatening to declare a national emergency to acquire the funds for the wall, Trump had finally done it. Following his declaration of a national emergency, roughly $8 billion will be freed up to fund and build the wall.
This $8 billion will come from different areas, including from the military, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Defense. Ultimately, President Trump would be using funds from other departments, intended for other uses, to fund and build a border wall stretched to over 200 miles long.
A nation divided
There is no denying that the nation has been divided by the idea of a border wall, among other actions taken by the Trump administration. The House Judiciary Committee has already submitted a six-page paper to the President stating that they will be investigating his use of executive power following the declaration of the national emergency.
It doesn’t stop there. Not only are Democrats torn up about Trump getting sufficient funds for the border wall, conservatives are expected to divide in the coming weeks too over whether taking funds from other necessary government projects and accounts was wise.
Controversy is nothing new for the United States government, but it is especially nothing new for the Trump administration either. Some conservative officials are even questioning whether Trump’s act has violated the Constitution or not.
Yes, the border wall will be built at the southern border, at the southernmost part of our nation. However, one does stop to wonder whether the border wall itself is actually the correct move for our great nation. Could the $1.375 billion initially given to Trump for the border have supplied more manpower and security instead? What else could the almost $8 billion being taken through the national emergency have gone to? Is the border wall even worth it?
As American citizens, it is our duty to ask these questions, to speculate, and to stay informed. While the bipartisan immigration deal did steer the nation away from a second government shutdown, the loss this country has felt by the divide and polarization in the parties is something we will suffer through for a long time coming. This is the conflict in Washington, the conflict in the United States. But are we building a border wall or dividing ourselves alone?
Articles referenced:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/gov-shutdown-long-affected-190107150120233.html
https://www.politico.com/latest-news-updates/government-shutdown-2018
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/11/us/politics/shutdown-deal.html?module=inline
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