We are in day 14 of the government shutdown, but with so much happening in the country--increased crime rates, politicians benefiting from government subsidized healthcare telling their constituents to rally AGAINST government subsidized healthcare and the release of GTA V (smh...BUY IT!), its easy to understand how someone could lose count. Our present government shutdown is not the first nor is it the longest, our government has had 17 shutdowns since the passing of the Antideficiency Act (originally enacted in 1884 and was made to prevent congress from making any new financial obligations or paying existing obligations that exceed the budget they set), with the longest shutdown period being 21 days (December 15, 1995 to January 6, 1996 under the Clinton Administration).
Now, one would assume with elected 535 officials (100 in the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives) representing their constituents as a individually and representing the nation as a whole on Capital Hill, that they would put aside petty differences and irrelevant ideologies to unite and prevent unnecessary hardships to the thousands of people in our country and if you assumed this...I apologize, I send you my condolences with a Hallmark Card and a Drake CD. No side is really budging, while we approach defaulting on our existing financial obligations. According to a recent article in USA TODAY, "...the fiscal crisis gripping Washington now hangs on whether two men can broker a deal: The Senate Republican and Democratic leaders. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., closed Sunday's Senate session saying he was "optimistic" that talks he has been having with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., can lead to an end of the federal government shutdown and an increase in the nation's debt limit". After reading this, you could be possibly be thinking the same thing that some people thought after hearing their names..."Who the f#@k are they?" and I don't blame them, lots of Americans can't name 3 branches of government yet alone name the individuals that occupy those branches.
Nonetheless, Senators Reid and McConnell are being looked at as the team-up needed to end the shutdown. Currently the goal in congress is to have a compromise reached by October 17, 2013, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. stated that, "Americans want Congress to do its job. … That's all they're asking us to do" and continued to say, "I'm confident and hopeful that will be accomplished." Given the climate, would a compromise reached by the 17th? less than likely, but if one reached it would possible have quite a few questionable stipulations with it. Like the other officials in the Senate, we the people can only hope for the best with the talks between Senators Reid and McConnell.
Cited Sources:
1. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/10/13/senators-rand-paul-lindsey-graham-government-shutdown/2975603/
2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/RL34680.pdf
3. http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/a-brief-history-of-federal-government-shutdowns/
4. http://www.gao.gov/legal/lawresources/antideficiencybackground.html
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