CNN - Many Americans affected by shutdown - Nov. 19, 1995 CNN U.S. News

Shutdown touches many lives across U.S.

November 19, 1995
Web posted at: 1:10 a.m. EST

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The shutdown of the federal government has reminded many U.S. citizens how much they depend on it every day. As Republicans and the White House tenaciously hang on to their stances over the balanced budget bill, the effects are being felt far outside of the Washington Beltway.

Home buyers applying for VA or FHA loans could face delays in their move-in dates if the shutdown continues. Mortgage applications are not being approved. These are loans made by private lenders, but guaranteed by the federal government.
The Grand Canyon remained officially closed Saturday, although tourists were sneaking peeks at nature's wonder from highway overlooks and on airplane tours. Arizona Gov. Fife Symington held out hope that the White House could be convinced that National Guardsmen should be used to re-open the park, which he argued is essential to his state.
Guests were forced to check out of the Volcano House Hotel and Restaurant at the Volcanoes National Park on the Hawaii's Big Island. The hotel was full, since this is the height of its season.
Public access to the thermal water in President Clinton's hometown of Hot Springs, Arkansas, was shut-off when the shutdown began. Hot Springs National Park officials closed the valves to spigots at four public access points, where the 143-degree mineral water normally flows.
The chickadees were still singing at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge near Minneapolis, but few people were there to hear them Saturday. Most of the 30 refuge employees were furloughed, canceling the usual school tours. Just one worker was in the 9,000-acre refuge Saturday.
Duck hunters were in a fowl mood in northeastern Louisiana, because three national wildlife refugees were closed Saturday, the opening day of duck season.
Hunting elk was deemed essential at Grand Teton National Park, allowing federal workers to stay on the job there and at the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming. Government officials determined the annual hunt must continue, since it helps control the size of elk herds.
Ginny Green, a Minnesota mom, was stuck in Salvador, Brazil, unable to get a non-immigrant visa for the 4-month-old girl she adopted last week. Her husband, an orthopedic surgeon, was struggling in St. Cloud, Minnesota, with his four other children, waiting for the U.S. State Department to get its funding restored so his wife can return home.
Five Wisconsin residents may have to cancel their study tour of Germany because they have no passports.
Mary Ann Sutton won't see her 3-month-old granddaughter until the shutdown ends. The Littleton, Colorado, grandmother can't get a passport to travel to Germany to see Sarah Brand, who lives with her soldier parents.
Americans can use an expired passport or a birth certificate to get onto the Caribbean island of Barbados. They won't get much help from the U.S. embassy there, however, since it was reduced to a skeleton staff by the federal shutdown. Only emergency services are offered, the U.S. Ambassador said.
The layoff of five gravediggers at the Arsenal Island National Cemetery, near Rock Island, Illinois, has placed a bigger burden on the three diggers not furloughed. Paperwork is piling up, they said, as veterans continue to die at a quick pace, despite the government shutdown. There were 13 burials over the last four days, they said.
Two-hundred Mississippi social workers could be furloughed next week, if the shutdown continues. Officials said the state Department of Human Services must get a $9 million federal payment, or else. The division deals with protective services for children and vulnerable adults, foster care, and adoption placement.
In Oklahoma, state officials said hundreds of employees of the Department of Rehabilitation Services could be furloughed soon, because of a shutdown of federal funding. These workers handle benefits for disabled people.
Thousands of New Hampshire residents braced for a colder existence, because of the federal shutdown. Local offices that distribute federally-subsidized fuel assistance can't do it this year until the government is restarted. Eligible households received an average of $400 each last winter.
The AIDS Ministry in Richmond, Virginia, was scrambling for private donations to replace the federal money which normally provides half of its budget. Sixteen AIDS patients live in the ministry's two facilities.
The city of Nogales, Arizona, may be stuck with the bill for treating Mexican sewage that is piped across the border. The federal government usually pays about $80,000 a month to Nogales for the service.

Shutdown touches many lives across U.S.

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