US GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?

Submitted by Admin on

The last time the government was forced to shut down was during the Clinton administration. This is the way politicians use average citizens as political pawns.

The following is a small reflection of some of what may occur this time around.

New patients will no longer accepted into clinical research at the National Institutes of Health. In addition, NIH disease hotlines and CDC disease surveillance are stopped.

Work on bankruptcy cases in the federal court system are suspended.

Hundreds of thousands of "non-essential" federal workers are furloughed.

Of the billions in Washington, D.C., area federal contracts, a large sum are affected adversely by the funding lapse.

368 National Park Service sites closed -- a loss of millions of visitors. The National Park Service administers 84.4 million acres of federal land in 49 states and other federal territories.

National museums and monuments close, including the Smithsonian and other government buildings, with an estimated loss of millions of visitors.

Hundreds of toxic waste dump sites go untended and uncleaned during the last shutdown. Superfund employees do not work.

The recruiting and testing of new law enforcement officials, including hundreds of Border Patrol agents upended.

Thousands of applications for visas by foreigners went unprocessed each day, along with the applications for U.S. passports. Airlines also suffered: Many prospective travelers were unable to fly.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has to cut many of its services, including health care, welfare, travel, and finance; the department could not process compensation claims.

The shutdown means a delay in processing alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives applications by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

The National Weather Service does not produce its regular reports during the shutdown.

New Social Security claims are not processed because the agency furloughed over 61,000 employees. As the shutdown continued, the agency regrouped, recalling workers to start processing new claims again.