By James B. Ewers Jr. Ed.D.
America has been in a political desert for over 40 days. There has been no relief to the economic and fiscal woes experienced by citizens.
Blame, shame and outrage have been words used to describe this debacle. Both parties have been in a cat fight. Logic and reasoning were not a part of any of the discussions. However, meanness and mayhem were.
While dissension was brewing in Washington DC, hunger among the people was happening in the United States of America.
Food banks were stripped of funding. Places of worship stepped in to provide some relief. Hunger should not be played around with by elected officials, yet it was. Apologies don’t fill empty stomachs.
Turbulence and turmoil have ended, at least for now. The United States government has re-opened. The new president signed the bill to re-open it on Wednesday, November 12th. The American people have been waiting to exhale during this period of crisis so now they can.
This new legislation will keep the government open until January 30, 2026. We can’t say with any certainty what the next steps will be.
What occurred during this time was unprecedented. This was a script that many of us believed would never be written.
Days before the government got back to business, air travel came almost to a standstill. Planes stopped flying and people stopped traveling.
Thousands of flights were canceled, and travelers were sleeping in airports hoping things would change. The Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said, “The cancellations have been necessary because of air traffic controller staffing shortages during the shutdown.”
Reports say that air traffic controllers missed two paychecks since the shutdown began October 1st. Secretary Duffy said, “In this package to reopen the government, our controllers could be paid within 48 hours of the government opening. They’ll get a big lump sum of what they’re due which is helpful. They don’t have to wait another two weeks to be paid.”
Now operations are better and people feel more confident in traveling as the busy Thanksgiving holiday rapidly approaches. Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian on CBS Mornings said, “I think the system should return to normal by the weekend, I really do. Thanksgiving is going to be a great holiday period of travel.”
Another casualty of the government shutdown was SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits being paused by the administration. There are nearly 42 million people who rely on this program. The cost of this program in fiscal 2024 was approximately $100 billion according to reports.
Without this program, many Americans and their families go without food. This is shameful that the richest country in the world would let some of its citizens languish in food insecurity.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins plans to “have everyone reapply for their benefits, make sure that everyone that’s taking a taxpayer-funded benefit through food stamps, that they are vulnerable and they can’t survive without it.” Dates have not been set as to when this application process will begin.
The question at the dining room table is when will the application process begin? Agriculture officials, be reminded people are hungry and I hope you will be expeditious in getting this done.
While the shutdown is over, the effects have a negative impact on the Affordable Care Act commonly referred to as Obamacare. Tax credits for it will expire at the end of this year. These credits have helped millions of Americans to afford healthcare.
John A. Graves, professor of health policy and medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville Tennessee said, “In some respects, the damage is already done. Premiums are higher in expectation of them expiring and they didn’t get it done in time for open enrollment, so people are seeing these premiums increase.”
We can only hope we won’t go through this again. America is a great country with great people. Political differences like we just experienced will hamper our future greatness.