I would be willing to wager a reasonable sum of money to bet that you’re probably sick of hearing about the government shutdown. Believe me, if it were up to me, the federal government would never be turned off in the first place. But, alas, we voted for a president and must accept the things that we cannot change, the courage to change the things that we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. In my opinion, the shutdown is like the tv series, “Friends,” in that we know its still taking place, we know the characters backward and front, and yet, whenever it comes on tv, we watch in amazement at the comedic splendor of a laugh-track sitcom. Aside from the fact that President Trump has been the first president to shut down the government more than one time in a year, the ramifications of the fed being powerless will adversely affect our nation long after Trump has secured his $5 billion wall budget request.
For those unfamiliar with the schematics of a partial government shutdown, it’s actually fairly simple; only certain departments within the federal government have halted all operations until further notice. Naturally, the State, Treasury, Justice, and Defense departments avoided Trump’s nefarious shutdown, but Homeland Security, a governmental bureau one would assume should remain operational at all times, has faced significant duress over the past three weeks. According to the Department of Homeland Security, a non-exempt employee is one whose functions “may not continue during a lapse in appropriations,” and this individual is “subject to an ‘emergency’ furlough and is not permitted to work.”
In the case of the DHS, their newest division, known as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has seen more than half of its staff furloughed during the recent shutdown. Considering the fact that the new division was established in November, they haven’t really had the chance to secure much of the nation’s cyber infrastructure. To put all this into ironic perspective, while parts of the federal government remain inoperable due to the President’s unwillingness to concede to the Democratic leadership that perhaps now isn’t the best time to spend $5 billion on brick and mortar wall that may, or may not deter unsavory characters from other countries, the our cyber infrastructure remains vulnerable to potential cyber attacks. In addition to the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity division being down at this moment in time, a program within the department, known as the Automated Indicator Sharing, has also sent home over 80% of its staff, according to TechCrunch.
If threats to cybersecurity have no bearing on your feelings of safety, consider the fact that TSA agents responsible for keeping travelers safe at every US airport security screening area haven’t been paid since the shutdown began. According to recent reports, over 90% of the TSA’s workforce of 60,078 employees will go unpaid during this time on top of already low pay. Several political analysts have pointed out that while the government is on hiatus, enemies of the United States most certainly are not.
“Government shutdowns tend to affect support activities disproportionately, such as hiring or vetting contracts. Thus, over time, personnel slots will go unfilled and contracts will expire, making it difficult to sustain the workforce or upgrade equipment.”
–Michael Daniel, former White House cybersecurity coordinator
I am confident that I’m not alone in saying that President Trump could continue to debate with Democratic leadership over funding requests, and have the federal government return to business as usual during this process. It makes no sense that our national security should be at risk over arguments related to funding for a project that may, or may not end up protecting us in the slightest. If the federal government remains shut down, at a minimum, we should keep active agencies responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of information systems tainted by or on behalf of the government.
