Specific public policy case in USA during the government shutdown - Essay Example

The issue of national security in the United States is one of the most sensitive issues. After the Twin towers were attacked in 2001 security policies were given priority over other policies during appropriation of funds by the legislature (Campbell, 2008). However, as the national security stabilizes and the country becomes more and more secure many proponents are of the opinion that the appropriation has now become too much in comparison with its contribution to the status of the national security (Klein, 2013).

Some legislators, in the events leading to the government shutdown, were proposing a cut, while others were of the opinion that the move to cut on military expenditure will only prove costly in the long run. This paper will discuss the government shutdown of 2013 and then go ahead to explore the US security policies using several sociological and political theories to analyze the key themes of the policy and ponder on the future developments and the alternative course of action. The paper will also employ the Eugene Bardach policy analysis model to bring out the contentious issues and their possible alternatives.

The Bacchi model will also be integrated to problematize the issue and discuss the presumptions of the policies. The US Government Shutdown The United States of America operates under a federal system of government. This government offers a wide range of public services in the areas of health, education, social security, medical, insurance and the country’s security while the other services are offered by the individual states to the citizens. For it to offer these services, it needs funds, which are allocated to each of its department by the legislature.

The last government shutdown took place in 2013 under the President Obama administration from October 1 to October 17 when a bill was signed. A shutdown of the federal government happens when there is no Appropriation bill that has been signed that allocates the various government departments to continue spending funds (Bill, 2013). These funds are allocated at the start of a fiscal year and when the year ends if there has not been any more appropriation from the Congress, and then the government has to shut down because of the funding gap that is created.

The 2013 government shutdown took place because the Republicans, and the Democrats could not agree on the funding of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. This act was signed into law in 2010 but has created deep divisions in the House of Representatives and the Congress. The Republicans who are controlling the House of Representatives want to cut the spending, and the amount allocated to this policy whereas the Congress which is dominated by the Democrats did not support the cut.

This confrontation led to the shutdown as the House of Representative passed a bill that had suggested a funding cut which was rejected by the Congress (Steinhauser, 2013). The main reason behind the Republicans proposing a cut in spending is because the government deficit in budget had already hit 15.7%, and the International Monetary Fund was already considering not lending the US government any more funds because of their rising debt levels; the credibility of borrowing was in question. During the 16-day shutdown, however, the Congress continued passing specific bills that addressed specific policies, which were then signed by