Do you miss the government shutdown? Don’t worry, another one could be coming as soon as this fall.
You might have thought the threat of another shutdown was shelved last year when congressional Budget Committee Chairs Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray came to a two-year bipartisan deal to fund the government.
But the new Republican Congress blew up that deal, and a shutdown could be part of the fallout.
Republicans are now attempting to undo controversial cuts to military spending in the 2013 sequester. Democrats are having none of that: if the Pentagon gets its money, they argue, so too should entitlements, as was part of the original deal. Unless Republicans relent on this point, Democrats have vowed to block all 13 appropriations bills from coming to the Senate floor.
But even if those bills were to get voted on, odds are they won’t pass since they have dozens of provisions that Democrats object to — and which President Obama has threatened to veto.
If some sort of funding isn’t passed by the end of September, the government will shut down. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell swears that will not happen on his watch, but for now the two sides aren’t even talking.
So what could cause a shutdown? Here’s a look at the 13 most controversial provisions, any one of which could trigger a partial or total government shutdown if Democrats and Republicans can’t come to an agreement.
Obamacare: Of course, the bills cut funding for the implementation of Obamacare — the same law that caused the last shutdown.
The environment: The bills would essentially defund or block the President’s climate change plan—including his recently issued controversial rule for coal fired power plants, a clean water rule and a bunch of endangered species listings. All told there are more than 30 riders that environmental groups are protesting.
Cybersecurity: On the heels of a massive breach of personal information for tens of millions of government employees, the GOP budgets would delay installation of cybersecurity upgrades to federal agencies to protect against foreign attacks and cut funding to protect the nation’s electronic grid from cyber attacks and extreme weather by 40%.
Education: The GOP bills would cut nearly $6 billion in education funding, eliminating six pre-K-12 programs, slashing Head Start by $1.5 billion, cutting 21st Century Community Learning Centers by 10% and School Improvement Grants by 11% and $300 million in Pell Grants.
Labor: As the President negotiates two of the largest free trade pacts in the world, he has pledged to ensure that they will meet fair labor standards and not empower countries to abuse their workforces. But the enforcement of these provisions falls on a Labor Department office, the same office that Republicans are looking to cut by 67%. Also on the chopping block: 5% of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s budget and 8% of the budget of the office that protects workers from wage theft and abuse.
Veterans: Despite the ongoing scandal plaguing the Veterans Affairs Administration, the budgets cut $255 million from veterans medical care and $105 million from maintenance for VA hospitals.
Consumer protection: The GOP bills would cut $200 million in funds to implement Wall Street re-regulation, or the Dodd-Frank bill passed in the wake of the financial crisis to prevent something like that from happening again. And it attempts to defund Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s darling, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was set up in the wake of the crisis to better protect Main Street from the risks Wall Street is taking.
Women’s health: The bills cut funding for Title X family planning service programs, eliminating access to birth control for the 4.7 million clients that the programs served in 2012, preventing an estimated 1.2 million unintended pregnancies. They also slash funding to prevent teen pregnancies by 81%.
Infrastructure: In the wake of a fire in a Chicago radar facility that knee capped Midwest air traffic for weeks as air traffic controllers tracked planes with pen and paper, the Transportation Department asked for more money for air traffic control. Instead, Republicans are seeking to cut $255 million from the air traffic control system. Other targets include: $479 million in cuts to water infrastructure $400 million in cuts to innovation grants and $1.7 billion in cuts to transit projects across the country.
Job training: The bills propose cutting $650 million from job training programs.
Wildfires and disease: The GOP budgets envision cutting $1 billion from funding to fight wildfires. Also on the chopping block: $500 million for the Agriculture Department to research diseases like the avian flu.
National parks and national service: The bills cut the National Park Services budget by $321 million, despite the fact that the agency has a massive $11 billion backlog. It also cuts $340 million, or 29%, from AmeriCorps, which translates into 32,000 fewer members serving their communities.
Health: The GOP budgets propose cutting lead paint removal in low-income households, potentially putting more than 2,000 children at risk. And they cut funding for 9,000 scientists’ research at the National Science Foundation.
