The US government shutdown entered its 36th day on Wednesday, becoming the longest ever. The previous longest-running shutdown occurred during US President Donald Trump’s first term in office.
The current standoff is rooted in a fight over health care in which Democrats are pushing for firm commitments to increasing health care benefits.
“Why is this happening? We’re in a shutdown because our colleagues are unwilling to come to the table to talk about one simple thing: health care premiums,” Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said in a speech late in the evening.
“Stop this mess, come to the table, negotiate,” he said.
What is a government shutdown?
A “shutdown” occurs when Congress – consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives – and the President fail to agree on the release of new budget funds.
If a budget is not passed, the government is unable to approve new spending, which means large parts of the state machinery temporarily stop working.
Under a shutdown, federal employees are furloughed or continue to work without pay.
The standoff is affecting millions of Americans, leading to federal program cuts, flight delays and federal workers across the country left without pay.
Trump has threatened to withhold Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food aid unless Democrats agree to reopen the government.
travel chaos warning
Air travel is one of the key sectors affected, with thousands of air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers working without pay.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) is predicting a bumper travel period for Thanksgiving, with nearly 6 million people scheduled to fly domestically over the Nov. 27 holiday.
The Trump administration has warned of tower oil spills at the country’s airports if the crisis continues.
“So if you get us down to a week from today, Democrats, you will see massive chaos… you will see massive flight delays,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters in Philadelphia. “You will see mass cancellations, and you may see us closing parts of the airspace because we can’t manage it because we don’t have air traffic controllers.”
In October, as the standoff was dragging on, Germany said it would pay about 11,000 local workers at US military bases because salary payments were in limbo.
Edited by: Rana Taha