The National Shutdown: What is it?

-Ethan L, grade 6

The date is September 30 of 2013, and what happened 18 years ago is about to happen again. With the House Of Representatives led by the Republicans and the Senate led by the Democrats, the 2013-2014 Congressional Spending Plan is being written.  The House will not pass it unless they can delay the Affordable Care Act, but the Senate’s Democrats stand behind the act. Without a spending plan, we have one thing–a government shutdown.

One may ask: What does this have to do with me? It affects everybody. Have you ever wanted to see the Smithsonian Museum? It is closed for the time being. Our most historical places, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, are closed too.  If you have a family member who works for the government, they probably are not being paid. Many economists say that a prolonged shutdown could cripple our economy even more than it is.

All I ask is that Congress makes a compromise on the matter.  Two hundred twenty-six years ago, fifty-five men from as far north as New Hampshire and as far south as Georgia come together here in Philadelphia to create a set of laws that has led our government since then.  We called this meeting the Continental Congress. They were from different walks of life and different areas of the country, yet they created a law that everybody thought was the best that could be written.  Why can they not try to follow the example of these great men?