Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The federal government has been shut down for 17 days, and the ramifications are mounting.
According to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R- Ala., 80% of workers at the National Nuclear Security Administration will likely be furloughed, leaving only a few hundred to manage America’s nuclear stockpile. According to the Armed Services Committee, 1,400 workers will be furloughed when funding runs out on Saturday, leaving under 400 employees to carry out work at the agency.
“These are not employees that you want to go home. They’re managing and handling a very important strategic asset for us. They need to be at work and being paid,” said Rogers.
Republicans and Democrats remain deadlocked over funding — with health care front and center in the stalemate. House Republican and Democratic leaders have held press conferences throughout the week and continue to pin the blame on each other.
“They’ve refused to just do their basic job, get the government going again, making sure that federal employees are paid, that our troops are paid. Border Patrol agents, TSA agents, air traffic controllers and everyone else who relies upon the vital services of our federal government,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
Democrats say they won’t back down on their demands for health care protections.
“These threats to try to back us off our position, it’s not working, and it’s not going to happen because there is a Republican health care crisis that is devastating the American people and we’re going to continue to stand up for everyday Americans,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
Democrats warn that allowing enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire at the end of the year will result in skyrocketing health care premiums, copays and deductibles.
“There are couples who currently pay about $2,000 per year for their health insurance premiums because they benefit from Affordable Care Act tax credits. When those credits go away, that same couple will now pay more than $20,000 a year,” said Jeffries. “They cannot afford that.”
The longest previous shutdown lasted 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019, during President Trump’s first term. By Monday, it would be the third-longest shutdown in U.S. history.
