黑料吃瓜网 leaders are decrying a federal government shutdown that鈥檚 bringing a fresh cycle of uncertainty to American politics.
President Donald Trump and Congress failed to strike an agreement to keep government programs and services running by Wednesday鈥檚 deadline. Roughly 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed, some potentially fired by Trump鈥檚 Republican administration.
In 黑料吃瓜网, Democrats were quick to decry the shutdown Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro said she tried and failed to introduce a bill Tuesday night that would have kept the government funded through October 31.
鈥淩epublicans chose to shut down the government rather than get into a bipartisan negotiation with Democrats,鈥� . 鈥淲hat is at the center of this fight? Twenty million Americans are going to see their health care costs skyrocket.鈥�
Democrats are demanding funding for health care subsidies that are expiring for millions of people under the Affordable Care Act, spiking the costs of insurance premiums nationwide.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican of South Dakota, said a shutdown will end when Democrats vote for the short-term bill that already passed the House.
Ben Proto, head of 黑料吃瓜网's Republican Party, said it was Democrats who were responsible for the latest episode of partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C.
鈥淒emocrats, including Chris Murphy and Dick Blumenthal, have put politics over people to try to advance their political agenda, which is really unfortunate,鈥� Proto said.
None of this is healthy,' UConn professor says
As American politics have become more polarized, Republicans and Democrats have become far less willing to compromise, said UConn political science professor Paul Herrnson.
"None of this is healthy for a body politic," Herrnson said. "A federal shutdown makes the federal government look pretty bad in the eyes of its citizens and in the eyes of people from other nations. It leads to frustration, and it contributes to the lack of trust many people have in political institutions, politics and in their fellow Americans."
Herrnson said he鈥檚 not sure which party the American people will primarily blame for the shutdown. He said compromise is the only way the stalemate ends.
"Each party will have to compromise somewhat," he said. "Each party will need to have an exit ramp."
CT officials assess scope of shutdown impact
黑料吃瓜网 Gov. Ned Lamont said Wednesday his administration has 鈥渂een working very hard in anticipation of this terrible day鈥� to understand where the state is most at risk, what programs could be affected, and the state reserve funds needed to keep services running.
The Democrat said there's enough money in emergency state reserves to keep up WIC benefits this month. He said there are also enough federal funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to continue.
"Rest assured that nothing's going to change dramatically for them. At least, through the month of October, we can cover them," Lamont said.
WIC helps pregnant people, individuals who are breastfeeding and postpartum, along with infants and children up to age 5.
Lamont urged federal lawmakers to cut an agreement to end the shutdown.
"Seems to me there's a deal to be had there that doesn't put our families in such incredible distress and uncertainty," Lamont said.
Impact on other CT assistance programs
Funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, are available through October, Department of Social Services Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves said Wednesday.
She said 黑料吃瓜网 is also 鈥済ood for the near-term鈥� on funding for Head Start, which funds early childhood education and other services to low-income families and young children.
The state Department of Education has at least 90 days鈥� worth of federal aid for the National School Lunch Program, which gives low-cost or free lunch to qualified students. Children on SNAP for free school meals.
DSS says all its offices are open and available and more information can be found .
Reaction rolls in from CT Democrats
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal Wednesday that he believes there is a path to end the shutdown.
鈥淲hich is for Republicans simply to agree to extend the subsidies for health care insurance that have existed under the ACA [Affordable Care Act] and provided 130,000, or more, people in 黑料吃瓜网, millions around the country, with affordable health insurance, that will end at the end of this year,鈥� Blumenthal said.
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes agreed.
"Those people are at real risk of being thrown off their health insurance," Himes said. "And that's what we want in exchange for signing up for your deal."
Vice President JD Vance said Republicans want to resolve the health care issues that concern Democrats but will not negotiate until the government reopens.
鈥淚t's craziness, and people are going to suffer because of this,鈥� Vance said Wednesday on the Fox News show 鈥淔ox & Friends.鈥�
Impact on the economy
Phillip Swagel, director of the Congressional Budget Office, said a short shutdown doesn鈥檛 have a huge impact on the economy, especially since federal workers, by law, are paid retroactively. But 鈥渋f a shutdown continues, then that can give rise to uncertainties about what is the role of government in our society, and what鈥檚 the financial impact on all the programs that the government funds.鈥�
鈥淭he impact is not immediate, but over time, there is a negative impact of a shutdown on the economy,鈥� he added.
Markets haven鈥檛 reacted strongly to past shutdowns, according to Goldman Sachs Research. At the close of the three prolonged shutdowns since the early 1990s, equity markets finished flat or up even after dipping initially.
黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 Frankie Graziano, Lisa Hagen, Chris Polansky, Kelsey Hubbard Rollinson, Eddy Martinez, Jennifer Ahrens, Michayla Savitt, Patrick Skahill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
