Martinez News-Gazette: Effects of government shutdown reach Martinez
October 3, 2013
Gerardo Recinos
On Oct. 1, the U.S. government shut down for the first time in 17 years after the House and Senate were divided on a spending bill and missed the deadline to continue funding federal government by midnight Tuesday morning.
The effect of the government shutdown has been felt across the country, including Martinez. While federal courts can run for approximately two weeks on reserve funds before possibly having to succumb to closures, courthouses in Martinez are safe because they are under the California Superior Court System.
As of Tuesday morning at 12:01 a.m., approximately 800,000 federal workers were off their jobs, and nonessential programs were temporarily suspended.
While Martinez doesn't have the glamorous national museums like those that surround the National Mall in downtown Washington, D.C., national parks in Martinez, such as the John Muir Historic Site, were closed as of Wednesday morning due to the government shutdown.
According to a press release from Caroline Beteta, CEO of Visit California, a non-profit aimed at bringing tourists to California, “the current federal government shutdown has come with immediate impacts on our national parks, public lands and overall tourism economy. Visitors to and travelers throughout California spend $292 million each day, $12.1 million every hour, or $202,000 every minute. Our national parks, public lands and surrounding gateway areas are major contributors to these figures and the effects of this shutdown will be felt immediately in these communities.”
Currently, Head Start programs have had to send students home as a result of the shutdowns, as they are a federally funded organization that is committed to the belief that “every child, regardless of circumstances at birth, has the ability to succeed in life.”
Under the Head Start umbrella in Martinez is The Martinez Early Childhood Center (MECC), located at 615 Arch St., which serves low-income families with full time childcare and development, including health and human services. MECC has not yet had to send any students home, according to Cassandra Campbell, the program's executive director.
“Today, I don't feel any effects from the shutdown,” Campbell said. “But if it continues, in a couple of weeks, I could. As of right now our next payment is still on hold.”
Other effects of the shutdown include the stall on gun permit processing; military paychecks may be delayed if the shutdown goes on longer than a week; tax returns will possibly be delayed, and audits have been temporarily suspended. The National Institute of Health is currently not accepting new patients or starting new clinical tests, and currently is displaying this message on their website, as are many other federally funded organizations:
“Due to the lapse in government funding, the information on this web site may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the web site may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.”
The stock market faced a slight uptick the day after the shutdown, possibly due to analysts gearing up for it by using data from the 1995-1996 shutdowns. The larger issue at hand, however, comes on Oct. 17 when Congress faces a deadline in regard to raising the debt ceiling, similar to the scare they faced in 2011 which led to the U.S. being stripped of its AAA credit rating.
In a press release from the office of U.S. Rep. Congressman Mike Thompson, who represents Martinez in District 5, the congressman states his disdain for the government shutdown.
“It's putting 800,000 federal employees out of work and delaying paychecks for two million more, cutting off food-safety operations and infectious disease surveillance, stopping important medical research, halting the disbursement of new small business loans, and costing the tax payers $150 million a day.
“The right thing to do for our nation would be to pass the Senate's compromise government funding legislation that protects health care reform and reduces spending. I stand ready to support such a bill,” Thompson said.
The effect of the government shutdown has been felt across the country, including Martinez. While federal courts can run for approximately two weeks on reserve funds before possibly having to succumb to closures, courthouses in Martinez are safe because they are under the California Superior Court System.
As of Tuesday morning at 12:01 a.m., approximately 800,000 federal workers were off their jobs, and nonessential programs were temporarily suspended.
While Martinez doesn't have the glamorous national museums like those that surround the National Mall in downtown Washington, D.C., national parks in Martinez, such as the John Muir Historic Site, were closed as of Wednesday morning due to the government shutdown.
According to a press release from Caroline Beteta, CEO of Visit California, a non-profit aimed at bringing tourists to California, “the current federal government shutdown has come with immediate impacts on our national parks, public lands and overall tourism economy. Visitors to and travelers throughout California spend $292 million each day, $12.1 million every hour, or $202,000 every minute. Our national parks, public lands and surrounding gateway areas are major contributors to these figures and the effects of this shutdown will be felt immediately in these communities.”
Currently, Head Start programs have had to send students home as a result of the shutdowns, as they are a federally funded organization that is committed to the belief that “every child, regardless of circumstances at birth, has the ability to succeed in life.”
Under the Head Start umbrella in Martinez is The Martinez Early Childhood Center (MECC), located at 615 Arch St., which serves low-income families with full time childcare and development, including health and human services. MECC has not yet had to send any students home, according to Cassandra Campbell, the program's executive director.
“Today, I don't feel any effects from the shutdown,” Campbell said. “But if it continues, in a couple of weeks, I could. As of right now our next payment is still on hold.”
Other effects of the shutdown include the stall on gun permit processing; military paychecks may be delayed if the shutdown goes on longer than a week; tax returns will possibly be delayed, and audits have been temporarily suspended. The National Institute of Health is currently not accepting new patients or starting new clinical tests, and currently is displaying this message on their website, as are many other federally funded organizations:
“Due to the lapse in government funding, the information on this web site may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the web site may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.”
The stock market faced a slight uptick the day after the shutdown, possibly due to analysts gearing up for it by using data from the 1995-1996 shutdowns. The larger issue at hand, however, comes on Oct. 17 when Congress faces a deadline in regard to raising the debt ceiling, similar to the scare they faced in 2011 which led to the U.S. being stripped of its AAA credit rating.
In a press release from the office of U.S. Rep. Congressman Mike Thompson, who represents Martinez in District 5, the congressman states his disdain for the government shutdown.
“It's putting 800,000 federal employees out of work and delaying paychecks for two million more, cutting off food-safety operations and infectious disease surveillance, stopping important medical research, halting the disbursement of new small business loans, and costing the tax payers $150 million a day.
“The right thing to do for our nation would be to pass the Senate's compromise government funding legislation that protects health care reform and reduces spending. I stand ready to support such a bill,” Thompson said.