The government recently went into a period of unrest as politicians could not reach an agreement regarding the new fiscal budget. The problem was not the whole budget, but rather a section regarding illegal immigration and Dreamers (children that come to the United States and work toward gaining full citizenship through schooling and acts of good character), leaving further deliberation to be done and the government to shut down without a new budget to fund this year’s projects.  

For a bill to pass in the Senate, it would take a majority, or fifty- one votes, in approval for the bill to move forward. On Sunday, representatives from both parties met to negotiate on an agreement for a temporary bill that would support the nation until February 8th, as long as the Republicans promised to vote on a new immigration policy. The temporary bill passed Monday, 81 to 18, reopening the government for further litigation and allowing all government employees to resume their normal tasks.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “Talks will continue, but we have yet to reach an agreement on a path forward that would be acceptable for both sides.”

The government has shut down five times in the last twenty years due to various reasons that blocked the passing of a new fiscal budget. This often occurs when one party holds a majority of seats in the Senate and can create a scenario where each party becomes locked and unwilling to budge on their opinions. These differences of opinions can become a problem each year when the government must decide as a whole what new projects and problems to solve in the upcoming year.

Rodney Schrimsher, a teacher a Bob Jones stated, “It is disheartening and disappointing to think that our government cannot find a solution and a compromise to get the things done we need them to do, but that’s why we vote and that’s why we have the right to express our opinion. We need to as an American nation of people say to these guys and gals, forget the political victories and the political sidings and get us something that we can be protected by and be secure and live our lives to the fullest possible way that we’ve been given.”  

Of a group surveyed, forty-two percent of Bob Jones students have one or two parents who work for the government. Luckily many students’ parents were not affected due to the short period of the initial government shut down; however a few were still affected. Elijah Madkins said, “[My dad] is a military doctor, and though he did not have to, he came into work and saw all his regularly scheduled patients in his own time, even though he was not required to come in.”

Another group of people affected was actual students themselves as few were unable to access particular websites like National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Nasa, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Gracie Poehlman, a student at Bob Jones attempting to use the CDC’s information page, said, “In addition to a few pages being behind that are regularly updated, there was a banner that appeared across the top of the page that said something like, ‘Due to the government shutdown, some pages will not be accessible, and other pages will not be updated.”’ This period of inactivity caused delays in research as students could not access information that usually is readily available.  

The new deadline is fast approaching, and politicians have failed to come to a compromise thus far, leaving the lives of Dreamers in limbo.