A month into the shutdown, Democrats and Republicans remain deadlocked over federal spending, leaving critical programs and North Carolina families caught in the middle.

The federal government shutdown nears the one-month mark this week, impacting communities across the country and in North Carolina.

The federal government shut down on Oct. 1 after lawmakers on Capitol Hill failed to resolve a budget impasse. The primary issue is the demand from Democrats for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies passed in 2021 to be extended.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated in September that permanently extending the tax credits would add $350 billion to the deficit from 2026 to 2035, and the number of people with taxpayer-subsidized health insurance would increase by 3.8 million by 2035.

On Tuesday, the Senate failed to pass a Republican-backed funding bill to end the government shutdown for a 13th time. The vote was 54 to 45, falling short of the 60 votes required.

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Democrats are feeling increasing pressure to come to an agreement with Republicans as the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union representing 800,000 federal government employees, urged Democratic lawmakers on Monday to end the shutdown.

“It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today,” Everett Kelley, AFGE National President, said in a press release.

US Rep. Chuck Edwards, NC-11, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, said Democrats in the House and the Senate have chosen partisan politics over the safety and security of the American people.

“Instead of passing a clean CR that would add $22.5 billion to the Disaster Relief Fund — funding that could go a long way in WNC recovery — my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have chosen political showmanship,” he told Carolina Journal in an emailed statement Tuesday. “Voting ’no’ to fund the government halts payments to the men and women of our armed forces, weakens border security, opens the door to hardship on America’s seniors, and blocks much-needed relief for the victims of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. The government must reopen. The people of NC-11 and others across the country cannot wait. This is bigger than politics – this is about people’s lives.”