Key ideas at root of government shutdown

Recently, I received an email from Congressman Casten. It was about the government shutdown and how we got there. He brought up the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) and how it includes significant tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and significant cuts in health care funding which would result in 17 million Americans losing their health insurance. What was not mentioned in Congressman Casten’s email — The OBBB requires 80 hours a month of work, job training or search from able-bodied citizens under 64.

The OBBB also tightens rules for lawful immigrants (e.g., refugees, asylees, TPS holders) which would remove 200,000 to 300,000 from Medicare eligibility by 2027 and add verification hurdles for Medicaid. The U.S. total gross federal debt is $38.1 trillion. Net interest costs for the U.S. federal government’s budget year that ran from 10/1/2024 to 9/30/2025 was $970 billion.

The core reason why we have a government shutdown is not enough importance is being placed on these two ideas: 1) The U.S. government should be spending within its means and thereby not increasing the national debt and 2) Place more emphasis on what is best for U.S. citizens.

John Kirchner

Elmhurst