Article of the Week
Why the US Government Has ‘Shut Down’ And How It Will Affect You
Instructions: COMPLETE ALL QUESTIONS AND MARGIN NOTES using the CLOSE reading
strategies practiced in class. This requires reading of the article three times.
Read the following article carefully and make notes in the margin as you read.
Your notes should include:
o Comments that show that you understand the article. (A summary or statement of the main idea
of important sections may serve this purpose.)
o Questions you have that show what you are wondering about as you read.
o Notes that differentiate between fact and opinion.
o Observations about how the writer’s strategies (organization, word choice, perspective,
support) and choices affect the article.
Your margin notes are part of your score for this assessment.
Answer the questions carefully in complete sentences unless otherwise instructed.
Student ____________________________Class Period__________________
If you have been paying any attention to the news for the past few weeks you may have heard
about the possibility of the US government 'shutting down'. At 12.01 am on October 1st, that
possibility became a reality. So what led to this momentous event and how will it affect your
day-to-day life? Read on . . .
Notes on my thoughts,
reactions and questions as I
read:
Every year on September 30th, the US Congress votes on a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund
government programs. Normally, the CR is just an automatic vote that passes without much
debate. However sometimes there are issues either relating directly to the budget or major policy
changes that the Republicans and Democrats do not agree on. This of course only happens when
the House of Representatives and the Senate, the two Chambers that make up the US Congress
are dominated by different political parties.
This is exactly the situation currently. The current Congress comprises of a Republican
dominated House and a Democrat controlled Senate and White House. At dispute here, is
President Obama's Health Care Reform Act or 'Obamacare' that the Republicans are strongly
opposed to.
So on Friday, September 20th, instead of voting on a continuance of the budget, the House
Republicans voted 230-189 to pass the CR only if Obamacare was defunded. This of course was
not acceptable to the Senate Democrats or President Obama. So on September 27th, just three
days before the deadline, they voted for an extension that would provide temporary funding for
the government until mid-November, so that negotiations could continue if . . . . Obamacare
remained as is.
With the ball back in their court, the Republican-dominated House worked all weekend to come
up with a palatable solution and returned with a CR that contained two amendments - One, to
delay Obamacare for a year and the other to repeal a medical device tax that would be
implemented to help fund the Health Care act.
This sent the Senate Democrats scuttling back to the drawing board. But as had been expected,
they refused to budge, insisting that the House Republicans approve a 'clean' bill, one that deals
solely with the budget issue, without attaching any conditions. Of course by this time, the
looming deadline had passed and at 12.01 am on October 1st, the US government officially shut
down.
Dolasia, Meera. Why the US Government Has ‘Shut Down’ And How It Will Affect You. DOGOnews. Oct.1, 2013.
Article of the Week
Why the US Government Has ‘Shut Down’ And How It Will Affect You
In case you are wondering what the Senate meant by passing a 'clean' bill and what if anything
Obamacare has to do with the day-to-day budget of the country, the answer is, not much. The
Republicans are just using it as a bargaining chip because they believe it not only causes Insurance
premiums to rise, but also, hurts the quality of health care. According to their estimates if passed,
the act will result in $570 billion USD in tax hikes and add over $500 billion USD to our already
high debt, something the country cannot afford.
Notes on my thoughts,
reactions and questions
as I read:
In their defense, the Democrats say that the law will not only provide more people access to
healthcare, but also, rein in the rising costs. Not only that, people with pre-existing health
conditions will now be able to get health insurance, something that is extremely difficult to do
currently. Also, those that have insurance will now no longer have to indirectly pay for those that
don't.
So who is right? Given that the true cost and impact of a big plan such as this, can only be realized
after it goes into effect, it is hard to tell. The irony of it all is that a government shutdown will
probably not impact the President's bill since most of the money comes from new taxes and fees
and from cost cutting measures in programs like Medicare that continue to operate as normal even
during the shutdown.
So what does this shutdown mean for the American people? Well for one while it is being dubbed
as a government shutdown, some areas keep operating as normal. This means that essential workers
like air traffic controllers, military personnel and law enforcement officers will continue going to
work. Also allowed to operate if they can pay themselves using the fines and fees they have
collected, are federal courts.
People working at non-essential services like national parks, federally owned museums like the
Smithsonian, overseas passport offices that give visas to people that plan to come to the US and
IRS call centers that provide assistance to tax payers will all be furloughed. This means that they
may receive no back pay for the time they are forced to take off.
And while this whole thing may sound dire, it might not be as bad especially if the two parties
come to an agreement quickly. However, if the shutdown continues for a few weeks, then there may
be an impact on the already weak US economy.
While it has been a while, this is not the first time the government has suffered a shutdown. It
happened for two consecutive years in 1995 and 1996 when Democratic Party leader President Bill
Clinton was President - the first one lasted 5 days, the second, a full 21 days. The issue? Conflict
between the two parties over spending on Medicare, public health, education and the environment!
Sounds familiar doesn't it?
Hopefully, the two parties will set aside their differences soon and do what is best for the American
people!
Dolasia, Meera. Why the US Government Has ‘Shut Down’ And How It Will Affect You. DOGOnews. Oct.1, 2013.
Article of the Week
Why the US Government Has ‘Shut Down’ And How It Will Affect You
Comprehension Questions – answers may be in phrases.
1. What must be voted upon in order to fun government programs each year?
2. What part of the budget has caused so much opposition between the Senate and Congress?
3. What is a ‘clean bill’?
4. What are the two amendments to the CR that the House recommended?
5. Has there ever been another government shut down? If so, when?
6. Make a chart listing the pros and cons of Obamacare.
Dolasia, Meera. Why the US Government Has ‘Shut Down’ And How It Will Affect You. DOGOnews. Oct.1, 2013.
Article of the Week
Why the US Government Has ‘Shut Down’ And How It Will Affect You
7. The author gives examples of essential and nonessential government services. Based on these
examples, DEFINE “essential” and “non-essential” government services. What criteria does the
government use to distinguish between the two groups. (Answer in detail. 3-5 sentence minimum. Use
evidence from the article to support your answer.)
(
8. Summarize the central idea of the article using examples from the text. Use the basic paragraph
structure.
Dolasia, Meera. Why the US Government Has ‘Shut Down’ And How It Will Affect You. DOGOnews. Oct.1, 2013.