As of October 1, government funding for countless programs has been completely cancelled. In Carlisle, the effects of this cancellation can be seen far and wide.

The reason for the government shutdown is due to differing party views on the federal budget. Although the budget is usually approved before the start of the fiscal year (October 1), this year the Democrats and Republicans could not agree on it. By law, the government may only spend appropriated money. This has led to the drastic cutbacks in government funding.

“We cannot permit our Department of Defense civilian employees to work, with a few exceptions,” said Carlisle Barracks garrison commander LTC Kimberly Peeples. “The “excepted” civilian employees are those who support excepted activities: safety, security, medical well-being, and military operations/training/ education.”

Excepted activities are those which the government requires be supported. They also include programs such as Social Security. The military will be paid but their pay may be delayed.

“The biggest challenge could be the impact on civilian employee morale and paychecks: mortgages, car payments, school tuition and utility bills will not wait,” said Peeples. “Secondly, we have veterans and military retirees and their families who rely on services at Carlisle Barracks that we can’t give them without the workforce.”

The loss of pay for so many employees may lead to Carlisle’s economy slowing down. Local business owners may or may not be impacted, depending on how long the shutdown lasts. On a national scale, for every day the shutdown continues $200 million is drained from the economy, Moody Analytics of Economy.com estimated.

The issue of a government shutdown is not a new one. The last United States shutdown began in 1995 and lasted 21 days. However, most are eager for the event to end.

“It’s not the way the system was built to work,” said Kevin Wagner, CHS Social Studies Department Chair, of the way Congress has shut down.

Locally, the Army Heritage Education Center in Carlisle is closed until the shutdown ends.

UPDATE: Congress has approved back pay for furloughed government workers, and many will be returning to work tomorrow.