"Obama Criticizes House G.O.P. as Senate Rejects Budget Plan" (Melissa Kurtzman, 5th Period)

Summary: Republicans in the House of Representatives are trying to pass are bill that would delay a government shutdown for another year due to budget problems but Republicans in the Senate keep rejecting the deals. If a deal doesn't pass soon, the government will go into a partial shutdown starting at 12:01 AM Tuesday morning. This debate has been a long-tme coming, but the big issue started when Republicans started trying to defund Obamacare; since they have the majority in the Senate, it has been hard to pass laws that would prevent such actions. House leaders keep saying that they need to cut parts of the health care plan, which goes into effect tomorrow, as a price for keeping the government open. If the government does shutdown, thousands of federal workers will be expected to work without pay and many offices will be temporarily closed.

Analysis: I don't understand what a government shutdown really means, but I know that it will be bad for a lot of people, especially those who work for the government, since they will be expected to continue to work without pay. I think that the Republicans and the Democrats need to come together and think about what will be best for the American public. A national survey published today reveals that over 80% of Americans have been unhappy about the way the government has been functioning recently. The results of this survey come as no surprise considering how Senators and Representatives have been handling business lately. I hope that Congress can come together in the final hours of tonight and prevent a government shutdown. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/us/politics/congress-shutdown-debate.html?hp&_r=0