Due to inaction by members of Congress and a refusal to negotiate, the government shutdown began as of October 1, 2013 at midnight. Thousands of nonessential federal government employees have been furloughed and many others will only be paid in IOUs for their work. Many services that Americans rely on will not be available. This is a result of Congress failing to do its constitutional duty to pass a budget to keep the federal government functioning. Members of Congress should not be allowed to continue collecting their salary while they do not actually do their job. The American people, as their bosses, do not wish to see them paid with our tax dollars during the government shutdown.



