USA government shutdown

Click HERE to read an article from Our Little Earth on the US government shut down!

Text adapted from the article in Our Little Earth:

On October 1^st 2013, part of the government of the United States shut down. The government was not able to pay the salaries of over 700,000 of its employees. Many government-run programs such as the national parks, museums, and famous sites like the Statue of Liberty in New York had to be closed.

Doesn’t the United States government have the money to pay its employees? The way it works in the United States is that a new budget for government spending has to be approved every year by the government itself. This budget determines how much money is going to be spent on the various government programs, agencies, and employees. The deadline for approving the budget was September 30^th 2013, but the people in the government couldn't agree on it. Therefore, as of October 1^st, the government did not have funds for all its employees and many of its programs.

The United States has multiple political parties, but the two main ones are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Barack Obama, the country’s President, belongs to the Democratic Party. People of both political parties are part of the government (the Congress, i.e. the House of Representatives plus the Senate). These decision-makers could not agree on how to spend money over the coming year. The main argument is about Obama Care a new health care law, which is supported by the Democrats and opposed by the Republicans. The new law requires government funds (and therefore a tax rise), and the folks in the government could not reach a decision on money for it. It is unclear for how long the government will be shut down…

Some government programs are still up and running. For example, the U.S. Postal Service is still delivering mail, soldiers continue to guard the country, the air traffic controllers are still guiding planes, prison guards are keeping a watch over the criminals in jails, and the astronauts in space are still being supported.

This isn't the first time the US government has shut down. The last time was in 1996 (the shutdown lasted 21 days).

Questions:

1. Why has the Statue of Liberty closed?
2. What is the Federal budget?
3. Who has voted against the budget and why?