Syd Iino: “I was not aware. Are they shutting down like right now?”
Chuck White: “It’s like a possibility that’s happening this week. Like a likely.”
Syd Iino: “What is shutting down government mean? Like, just everything is going to end.”
That was freshman Syd Iino, and she voiced the feelings of many students in regard to a US government shutdown--confusion and fear. A government shutdown grows more likely each day as lawmakers fail to reach a deal that extends funding past a critical deadline at the end of the month.
Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle hope to pass a short-term funding extension to avert a shutdown on Saturday. It’s not clear if the plan will succeed amid disagreements over spending and policy divisions over international affairs such as aid to Ukraine.
Cameron Kanauf: “What I do know about it is like the government is like doesn’t have enough funding to keep running and like some functions of the government may be like shut down for a certain period of time. As for what functions? I’m not sure. And I, I don’t entirely know what that means for the entirety of the United States.”
Cameron Kanauf is a freshman, and to answer his question, government funding expires at the end of the day on Saturday, September 30 at midnight, though the full effects of a shutdown wouldn’t be felt until the start of the work week on Monday.
In the event of a shutdown, government operations would come to a halt, but some services deemed essential would continue. Such services include those necessary to protect public safety and national security like border protection, federal law enforcement and air traffic control. However it’s important to note, these workers would be furloughed without pay.
Federal employees wouldn’t be the only ones affected during the shutdown. National Park Service sites across the country felt major affects during 2019′s pause. Some remained open but severely understaffed for weeks without park service-provided visitor services such as restrooms, trash collection, facilities or road maintenance.
For USC students, the shutdown could impact some study abroad folks who happen to be overseas if congress fails to pass proper legislation. US embassies around the world would remain open but delays could occur if there aren’t sufficient fees to cover operations.
We asked students if they knew anything about the looming threat of a shutdown in the near future. Most of the students we talked to had no idea.
Joan Ruic: “Wait? When did the government shut down? I just remember the storming of the Capitol, but I don’t know if that’s really shutting down.”
Sara Leong: “I did not know about the government shutdown. But also, we’ve been in this position before. The government has, quote shut down before.”
Sarah Pirone: “I haven’t really heard anything about it. Kind of sounds like conspiracy theory. Oh, yeah. No, I haven’t heard anything.”
That was freshman Joan Ruic, junior Sara Leong, and freshman Sarah Pirone.
This has been Chuck White for Annenberg Media.