Government Shutdown: For How Long?

MONDAY, OCTOBER 6
PROGRAM #10918 12:00 PM PT

Government Shutdown: For How Long? 

The U.S. government shutdown would enter its sixth day today if Republican majority and Democratic minority leaders fail to reach an agreement. Thousands of federal workers are either furloughed or working without pay, while President Trump threatens permanent cuts to federal agencies and mass layoffs if the shutdown continues. Which essential services are most affected? What are the economic and political costs? And how is public opinion reacting to this deepening political paralysis?

Guests: Jose Lopez Zamorano, Correspondent, Washington, DC; Lorelei Salas, Former Director of Supervision, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau-CFPB, New York, NY.

The shutdown threatens community centers. More than 1,500 community health centers that rely on federal funding and serve millions of low-income people are facing a financial crisis exacerbated by the partial government shutdown and budget cuts. The threat of layoffs, reduced services, and even closures worries patients and advocates, who warn that this could further overwhelm already overburdened hospital emergency rooms. What is at stake for these clinics and the communities that depend on them?

Guest: Paula Andalo, Ethnic Media Editor, KFF Health News, Silver Spring, MD.

Can a Comedian Mock the President? Popular comedian Jimmy Kimmel returned to the air after a national outcry pressured Disney to reinstate him following satire targeting the president’s party. The incident raises pressing questions: Was this censorship? Are comedians, critics, and journalists now subject to persecution? Is free expression under siege? Who might be next? And what are the limits of executive power to silence dissent?

Guest: Angélica Salceda, Attorney and Director of the Democracy, Speech, and Technology Project, ACLU of Northern California, San Francisco, CA.

Photo:  Thanawat/Adobe stock

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