US government shutdown: US Embassy in India announces its Twitter account will not be updated regularly until …
The US government has shutdown for the first time in nearly seven years. The shutdown comes after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree a deal to keep the federal government funded. Amid the shutdown, the US Embassy in India has shared an update on X (formerly Twitter) where it said that the account “will not be updated regularly until full operations resume”. The post, however, mentions “urgent safety and security information” as an exception to this.“Because of the lapse in appropriations, this X account will not be updated regularly until full operations resume, with the exception of urgent safety and security information,” the US Embassy in India wrote on X.
Why the US government shutdown
Every year, the Congress is required to approve spending bills by October 1, the start of the US fiscal year. This is mandatory to fund government departments and federal agencies. This year, no appropriations bills were passed before the deadline.The Republican lawmakers attempted to push through a temporary measure to keep the government open. The White House and Republican lawmakers pushed for what they called a “clean” continuing resolution (CR), which would maintain current funding levels until November 21. But, Democratic lawmakers resisted signing on to the Republican plans. They insisted that any agreement must include a permanent extension of health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.Last US government shutdown occured in December 2018 that lasted for 35 days.
What happens after US government shutdown
In a shutdown, the federal government stops all “non-essential” functions. Some of the most noticeable closures and slowdowns include visa services, passport services, federal agencies like NASA, Department of Education, national parks, among others.However, employees whose work is termed “essential” are required to report to work, often without pay. Services still functioning include air traffic controllers and TSA officers at airport, border patrol and coastal guards, FBI, CIA and others. Talking to reports, President Trump said “When you shut it down, you have to do lay-offs, so we’d be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected.”
