By Miriam Raftery

January 25, 2019 ( Washington D.C.) – The longest federal government shutdown in history is slated to end tonight, after President Donald Trump and Congressional leaders agreed to enact a temporary bill to fund agencies through February 15^th.  That bill does not include any funding for a border wall. 

The Senate passed the short-term funding bill today, one day after the Republican-controlled Senate voted to reject two measures that would have reopened the government long-term. One was a Trump proposal with wall funding and a temporary extension of protection for young immigrants or Dreamers.  The other was a funding bill with no money for the wall passed by the Democratic-controlled House.

During the next three weeks, Congress will convene a bipartisan conference committee on a Homeland Security Department funding bill and attempt to strike a compromise on border security.

By Ken Stone

Reprinted with permission from Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  A Border Patrol agent walks along newly installed concertina wire at Border Field State Park. Photo by Chris Stone

January 9, 2019 (San Diego) - Albert Vieira, working as a border officer in San Diego, hasn’t been paid since the partial government shutdown began Dec. 22. Now he’s the named plaintiff in a major lawsuit against the federal government.

By Miriam Raftery

January 6, 2019 (Washington D.C.) – Two vital sites run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that scientists rely upon for up-to-date climate change data have gone dark, apparently due to the government shutdown caused by the impasse between President Donald Trump and Congress over a federal budget.

By Miriam Raftery

December 21, 2018 (Washington D.C.) – President Donald Trump says he will shut down the government at midnight  unless the Repubilcan-controlled Senate passes a budget with $5 billion in funding for a border wall.  Trump claims this would be a “Democrat shutdown.”  The House already passed the measure yesterday down party lines.

But dozens of Senators have already left Washington for the holidays and it appears ulikely that enough votes will be mustered for passage.

Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), chair of the Senate’s budget committee, has stated flatly, “No, he won’t have 60 votes over here.”

By Miriam Raftery

January 20, 2018 (Washington D.C.) – Congress failed to pass a short-term spending bill by Friday night’s deadline that would have funded the federal government only until February 16^th. As a result, the federal government is starting a shutdown effective today—the first anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The key sticking point was Republicans’ failure to protect Dreamers, or young people brought here as children of undocumented immigrants.  Trump cancelled former President Barack Obama’s executive order protecting Dreamers but gave Congress six months to pass legislation to protect them before deporting them. That timeline is nearly up. The shutdown also means no renewal of funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, which has expired.

East County News Service

September 11, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – The federal government will run out of money on September 30^th if a funding resolution is not passed.  Some Republicans are threatening a shutdown of the government unless Planned Parenthood is defunded completely due to controversy over use of fetal tissue from abortions--even though the law already prohibits use of federal funds for abortions.

By Miriam Raftery and Nadin Abbott

October 16, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – If Congress and the President don’t pass a spending bill and raise the debt ceiling, tomorrow the United States will default on its debts for the first time in our nation’s history. 

The heads of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce representing businesses, the AFL-CIO representing labor unions, and the nonprofit United Way have all urged Congress to end the shutdown and avoid a default. 

If the nation defaults on its debts, economists warn this could trigger a stock market crash, soaring interest rates, and a global recession.  The U.S. would be unable to borrow money and would be able to spend only cash on hand creating an uncertain future for all who rely on federal money, including Social Security and Medicare recipients.  Foreign creditors could seek to cash out their U.S. bond holdings, leaving the government unable to pay its debts.    Standard and Poors has downgraded the U.S. credit rating in reaction to the stalemate in Washington, CCN.

Supervisors to hear proposal Tuesday urging fast transfer of planes for firefighting from Department of Defense to U.S. Forest Service

By Miriam Raftery

October 5, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Shut-down of the federal government over the spending bill impasse has caused furlough of 2,000 California National Guard technicians who maintain helicopters and cargo planes that respond to major wildfires statewide. Major General David Baldwin has said that “lives are at stake” because of these “inane cuts and work stoppages,” the SF Gate reported. 

“The federal government needs to grow up, settle its budget mess and remember one of its primary obligations – public safety,” Supervisor Dianne Jacob  told East County Magazine.  “Any furloughs or other cutbacks that undermine aerial firefighting would be a major concern, especially as our region approaches the most dangerous stretch of the wildfire season.”

On Tuesday, Supervisors will hear a proposal by Supervisors Jacob and Greg Cox asking the U.S. Department of Defense to transfer seven surplus C-27 aircraft to the U.S. Forest Service to bolster firefighting resources in San Diego County and other areas.

September 30, 2013 (Ramona) – With the federal government nearing a shutdown, Supervisor Dianne Jacob and Supervisor Ron Roberts have issued a press statement emphasizing the importance of keeping the Ramona Airport traffic control tower open. The Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year targeted the facility – a hub of aerial firefighting operations -- for closure due to sequestration, but extended the funding to October 1.  In recent weeks, the FAA has not publicly disclosed its plans for the tower and the looming shutdown is heightening worries about the facility’s future.