The United States has reached a grim milestone in its history with its longest government shutdown. This follows members of the Senate failing to reach a deal to pass a funding bill that had already received a go-signal from Congress, with Democrats arguing that the bill was intended to sidestep major social programs such as healthcare.
35 days of government shutdown
The US government has been in a frozen state since October 1, with hundreds of thousands of federal employees working without pay, while more than half a million were furloughed or sent home without pay.
The stalemate between Democratic and Republican Senators occurred after the latter pushed a bill that would have imposed massive Medicaid funding cuts and failed to extend tax credits that would make health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans.
Without these amendments, Democrats claim, many will endure a heavy financial burden in maintaining their healthcare privileges, while some are doomed to lose theirs as prices on life and medical insurance would skyrocket.
The Republican Senators then called out their Democratic counterparts for “politicking” the situation that has left more than a million federal workers unpaid and social programs on hold, and demanded that they fulfill their duties as public servants to their constituents.
The bill had been on hold since the Republican Senators failed to secure at least 60 votes.
In Congress, however, the bill went swiftly as most of the seats were occupied by allies of President Donald Trump.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: WHO pushes for sustainable self-reliance amid health aid cuts
Federal social programs face uncertainty
Due to the lengthy shutdown of the US government, as many as 730,000 federal workers remain unpaid, while 670,000 were furloughed, which has affected state-sponsored social programs due to the dried-up funds from the national government.
Among the heaviest hit was the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, where millions of American beneficiaries rely on food stamps provided by the US government.
But the US Department of Agriculture has held its $8 billion budget for millions of SNAP accounts, with local officials warning that further delay could spell an increase in hungry American families.
Meanwhile, air traffic in some US airports has also been affected since many air traffic controllers have been sent home due to a lack of funding from the government to pay their salaries.
Authorities warned that flights would be shuffled throughout the week, with most being canceled and moved, to accommodate their lack of staff.
Not the first shutdown under Trump’s administration
The ongoing shutdown is not the first that the Trump government has faced, with the president lashing out against Democratic Senators for deliberately ignoring the vote during their session at the Senate.
Branding them as “crazed lunatics”, Trump said that the Democrats have been vouching for Obamacare, which is too expensive to maintain and “terrible” to be retained under his term.
He reiterated that he and his allies in the Senate would not be “extorted” by the demands of the Democrats, which could prolong the consequential shutdown.
Trump was also involved in two government shutdowns during his first term.
READ NEXT: Starbucks to sell stake in China business for $4 billion
Angelica N. Hall 
Shameeka Voyiya 
Carmela Calling