top of page

Help End the Government Shutdown - Register for Hunger Action Day!

mmetzler9

The federal government shutdown has been going on for more than a week. The stories of unmet needs are mounting: Head Start programs have had to shut their doors, children sick with cancer have had to forgo treatment that they get from the National Institute of Health, and inspections of foreign food imports have been cutback. Here in Washington, our Department of Labor recently announced that state employees who work in the unemployment program were asked to fill out their own applications for unemployment insurance because of having to be furloughed.

At the heart of the budget impasse is a disagreement over defunding the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”). Republicans want to pass a continuing resolution on the budget that defunds the ACA or delays implementation of the ACA’s requirement for individuals to have insurance coverage for a year. Democrats want Congress to pass a “clean CR,” that is, a continuing resolution that does not add on any new requirements in order to keep programs and services running while giving time to Congress to work out their differences over the ACA and entitlement spending issues.

As each day of the shutdown continues, polls are showing that more and more Americans are getting angry over the loss of jobs and services. The Republican strategy has been to pass legislation that reopens government on a piecemeal basis by restoring programs whose closure has made for terrible headlines. The Democrats have been mostly unified in rejecting these bills, maintaining that we are only truly helping those vulnerable families at risk by opening the entire government at once so that all of their programs and services are restored and in place.

Thankfully, food and nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), school meals, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, all have funding to continue services through the end of the month. But if Congress does not resolve this impasse over our budget by Oct. 17, America is at risk for a financial crisis.

The risk stems from the possibility of our having reached our debt limit. Our country will not be able to borrow any more money to pay for any services and programs unless Congress agrees to raise the debt limit, and that has been one of the sticking points in preventing an agreement over our budget. The latest reports out of Washington provide some hope: apparently there is growing agreement between members of both parties to temporarily raise the debt ceiling and reopen the government to allow for more time to agree on a final budget.

Written by https://www.northwestharvest.org/help-end-the-government-shutdown


21 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Helpline House Social Services

Home of the Bainbridge Turkey Trot, an Island Thanksgiving Morning Fundraiser Tradition!

Social Service Appointments

Monday - Friday

9 AM - 5 PM

Food Bank Services
Monday - Friday, Except Wednesday

10 AM - 4 PM

Closed: Christmas, New Year's Day, MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Fourth of July, Labor Day and Thanksgiving weekend.

282 Knechtel Way NE

Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

Tax ID or EIN: 91-0902503 

Helpline House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. 

206.842.7621 | f 206.842.9867 | helpline@helplinehouse.org

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
bottom of page