What is a government shut down? 

This past month, on October 1st, marked the start of a government shutdown. The government shutdown has been going on for 35 days now. 

A government shutdown takes place when Congress fails to pass when members are unable to come to an agreement in regards to funding. If the funding deadline passes without Congress allowing more spending, the government must fully or partially shut down. 

During a shutdown, the federal government must stop all non-essential spending, until funding is approved and signed into law.

This year politicians had proposed extending government funding at current levels, to allow members to keep working on full-year appropriations bills.

 But other politicians made a counter proposal to put restrictions on Trump’s ability to withhold funding. Congressional leaders met with President Trump at the White House but nothing changed. So the government was forced to shut down until funding was approved. 

How does the government shutdown affect Stark County?

Since the government has been shut down, it has affected many essential programs not only nationally, but in Stark county. 

The National First Ladies Library and Museum in Canton is closed to the public until further notice. This also applies to any federally funded museum or program. People who work there are now without pay until the government starts running smoothly again, but a strain on many financially.  

So many people rely on food stamps and with the government shut down, SNAP funding is temporarily closed. This is the first time in history that SNAP benefits have not come out, leaving many wondering how they’ll put food on the table this month. There are thousands of people who receive SNAP in Stark county. 

According to the Canton Repository, “The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be prevented from admitting new patients or processing grant applications.”  

These are just a few ways we are impacted by the U.S. government shutdown.   

The longest government shutdown, other than the one going on this year, was in 1995 and lasted 21 days.