By Cora Beyer

Political Editor

In its feeble beginning, 2019 has already seen the longest government shutdown in American history. As Congress battled it out about the federal funding bill, especially in regards to President Trump’s border wall, thousands of Americans were furloughed or working without pay.

The 35 day shutdown caused many government employees and their families a lot of anxiety. After weeks without pay, many workers were forced to obtain food from local food banks to support their families.

It is easy to assume that all of the people affected reside in the nation’s capital, and while a large majority of them do, the effects of this shutdown stretched across the country.

This includes people right here in Red Lion, Pennsylvania.

Red Lion student, Paige Griffin’s, father is employed for the National Park Service and was furloughed during the recent government shutdown.

“He isn’t home very often because of his job,” said Griffin. “So, it was actually nice having him around for a few weeks, but I could tell he would rather be working.”

As part of the deal when the government reopened, furloughed employees, including Griffin’s father, received back pay to compensate for the weeks without.

This same deal, made by Congress and approved by the President, only provided a three week period to create a lasting compromise on the federal budget.

Last Friday, that three week period ended and a couple resolutions were decided on. First, a second funding deal was reached by Congress. However, President Trump also declared a state of emergency in order to obtain funding for his iconic border wall.

It will become clearer in the weeks to come how long this state of emergency will last and how efforts to obtain border wall funding will be handled, but for the moment, the government is open and business as usual is being carried out.