For Native American Tribes, Government Shutdown Could Cripple Basic Health Care System
Native American tribes rely heavily on federal funding to keep their health clinics staffed. “Things do grind to a halt,” said Kevin Washburn, who served as the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs under President Barack Obama. “Indian Country stops moving forward” during a shutdown, Mr. Washburn said, “and starts moving backward.”
The New York Times:
Shutdown Leaves Food, Medicine And Pay In Doubt In Indian Country
For one tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the government shutdown comes with a price tag: about $100,000, every day, of federal money that does not arrive to keep health clinics staffed, food pantry shelves full and employees paid. The tribe is using its own funds to cover the shortfalls for now. But if the standoff in Washington continues much longer, that stopgap money will be depleted. Later this month, workers could be furloughed and health services could be pared back. “Everything,” said Aaron Payment, the chairman of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe, “is on the table.” (Smith and Turkewitz, 1/1)
The Washington Post:
Disruptive, Disappointing, Chaotic: Shutdown Upends Scientific Research
Kay Behrensmeyer was supposed to be preparing for a three-week expedition to look for evidence of ancient humans in Kenya. Instead, she spent Thursday packing her research permits, her fossil-collecting supplies, and maps she’d spent weeks compiling and annotating by hand into a FedEx box, which she shipped to a junior colleague on the project. Behrensmeyer, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the National Museum of Natural History, wasn’t going anywhere. The federal government was shut down. (Guarino, Kaplan, Fritz and Johnson, 12/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Garbage, Human Waste Take Toll On National Parks Amid Government Shutdown
Human feces, overflowing garbage, illegal off-roading and other damaging behavior in fragile areas were beginning to overwhelm some of the West’s iconic national parks, as a partial government shutdown left the areas open to visitors but with little staff on duty. (Knickmeyer and Gecker, 1/1)
The Associated Press:
What Happens In A Partial Government Shutdown
A look at the impact of the partial government shutdown that began on Dec. 22. (12/30)
