Prime News Ghana

1000 of workers to be furloughed as American Gov't shuts down

By PrimeNewsGhana
American_Gov't_shuts down
Shares
facebook sharing button Share
twitter sharing button Tweet
email sharing button Email
sharethis sharing button Share

The American Federal Government has been shut down on the first anniversary of President Donald Trump.

This occurred after the failure of long hours of negotiations by Congress to reach a deal on a funding bill on Friday compelling a midnight vote of 50-49 at the Capitol Hill.

The Shut-down which will have a devastating toll on not only the ordinary citizen but all had been estimated to cost the American taxpayer, some six billion dollars a week with other debilitating effects including children losing their health insurance.

All Government Agencies will be inactive but the airports and schools will remain open. Again, thousands of Federal workers in the housing and Urban Development, Transport, Justice, Labour, Commerce, Interior, Education and Transport sectors among others would be affected with 7,500 workers of the 7,800 (96 percent) in the Housing and Urban Development alone facing furlough (Leave of absence).

The Labour sector will have 12,800 of its 15,400 with the Health and Human Services, losing 41,00 of its 81,500 workers off whilst Education workers will be cut down from 3,900 to 3,700, representing a 95 percent reduction.

A total of 31,200 of the 241,400 Homeland Security workers are expected to sit home with Transportation, Treasury and Veterans Affairs trimming by 37 percent, 55 percent and four percent respectively, according to statistics provided by the New York Times.

The shutdown which coincides with the first year inauguration of President Trump would be a big blow to his administration as it struggles to seek funding to carry out Government business. Democrats have since early this year warned that it was not going to support any funding that would not protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and will also not vote for monies to fund a wall on the Mexican border.

Republicans were very adamant but struggled in vain to get the needed 60 votes to have their way.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican Leader, after the voting, said Republicans will not compromise on the unreasonable demands by the Democrats.

Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader called on President Trump to take the blame for the Shut Down, saying “this will be called the Trump Shutdown” and no one will be blamed for what had happened.
He said it was his job to get to them and unite the house by brokering a deal, but the President never got to them “not even once”.

Political Analysts in America are worried about the how long the shut-down will take and whether there would be a compromise soon.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, whiles on attachment to the Cincinnati Enquirer, a multimedia Group in Ohio, on impressions of the first year of President Trump, Jim Chandler, 82, a retired Army Officer, at Bethel County, described President Trump’s as the best thing that ever happened to America. He said President Trump was on the right track to “bring America back to the constitution and make the country great again” adding “he is probably the most rational President in his actions and not in his disruptions”.

Mr Chendler said the Democrats should be blamed for a shutdown as their demands will hurt America.
He expressed fears that if American borders were not protected from immigrants the country will not be safe for its inhabitants and lauded moves by the Trump administration to secure its borders.

Michael Getz, a construction worker with Dike Energy, held similar sentiments saying documented immigrants were considered fellow Americans, however, undocumented ones must be moved out of the country. However, Pasuki Davis, 32, a public worker, described his administration as the worse ever, he had witnessed in the country, adding that a President who could not negotiate to prevent the shutdown “is not for us, we don’t have a President”.

Aleatha Davies, a hotel attendant, said President Trump was a racist who does not care about anybody whether white, black, rich or poor adding that he was the most unpopular President America has ever produced and opined that many who voted for him had bitterly regretted.

Mrs Crystal Kendricks, an Ohio Marketing Consultant, said: “we are a country of many cultures but the President has failed to recognize this, we have lived through many things and we will live through this one too and pull through”.

Â