The shutdown of the federal government is the product of failed leadership in Washington across the board. Governor Christie is right; when the people who we pay to run the government shut down the government, that is by definition a failure. Our elected officials on all levels need to talk with one another and work together to find compromise and common ground, just like we do here in Burlington County.

This shutdown has potentially serious consequences for our residents.

Already thousands of employees have been sent home from the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, our county's single largest employer, many of them civilians with their jobs now on hold until this budget mess is resolved.

Nearly half of the 28,600 New Jersey residents employed by the federal government are expected to receive furloughs, forced out of their jobs until the shutdown ends.

People who are sick and awaiting treatment, including children with cancer awaiting clinical trials, are having those treatments put on hold.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced that if the shutdown continues into late October it will run out of money for compensation and pension checks for more than 3.6 million veterans who rely on the funds to support themselves.

Applications for federal student loans, Pell Grants, small business loans, homeowner loans, and many others will be slowed or stopped altogether the longer the shutdown drags on.

It is time for the partisan gameplaying to stop! Join me in calling on all our elected leaders in Washington, DC to get back to work.

Joe Donnelly, Burlington County Freeholder Director

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