GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

This occurs when Congress cannot resolve budget disagreements for the upcoming fiscal year
and stops all but essential federal services. It affects a large number of federal employees, not
including military personnel and necessary staff. The shutdown continues until the
government is able to negotiate a new budget bill.

OBAMACARE
The informal name for a national health care plan focused on creating better access to
affordable coverage in the US. It was signed into law in March of 2010 as The Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act. Among other important things, Obamacare creates
exchanges where Americans can shop for different plans and see if they qualify for certain
health care subsidies.
Why Is It Important?
Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a recently passed health care
policy proposed and supported by President Barack Obama. The acts primary objective is to
make quality health insurance more affordable and available to the American public. It also
requires that insurance companies have minimum standards and rates regardless of preexisting conditions, which was a big complaint about United States health care system in the
past. People will also be charged a fee or penalty if they do not have health care insurance
coverage.
DEFINITION of 'Bailout'

A situation in which a business, individual or government offers money to a failing business

in order to prevent the consequences that arise from a business's downfall. Bailouts can take
the form of loans, bonds, stocks or cash. They may or may not require reimbursement.
SUBPRIME CRISIS
A situation starting in 2008 affecting the mortgage industry due to borrowers being approved
for loans they could not afford. As a result, a significant rise in foreclosures led to the collapse
of many lending institutions and hedge funds. The financial crisis in the mortgage industry
also affected the global credit market resulting in higher interest rates and reduced availability
of credit.

The Rust Belt is the informal description for a postindustrial region straddling
the Northeastern and the East North Central States, referring to economic
decline, population loss and urban decay due to the shrinking of its once powerful
industrial sector. The term gained popularity in the United States in the 1980s

The Rust Belt generally begins in central New York and runs west through
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and northern Illinois and Indiana.

States in the South and Southwest marked by warm climate, rapid economic and population
growth in the last two decades, and (often) political conservatism.
In recent years water shortages, droughts, and drug trafficking near the Mexican
border have become a problem in the region.

Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014

In May 2014, major problems with scheduling timely access to medical care became public.
As of May 2014, at least 40 United States Armed Forces veterans died waiting for care at the
Phoenix, Arizona Veterans Health Administration facilities, and an investigation of delays in
treatment throughout the Veterans Health Administration system is being conducted by the
Veterans Affairs Inspector General. On May 30, 2014, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric
Shinseki resigned from office due to the fallout from the scandal.

Affirmative action
: the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of members of groups that
have not been treated fairly in the past because of their race, sex, etc.
Origins

The term "affirmative action" was first used in the United States in Executive Order 10925
and was signed by President John F. Kennedy on 6 March 1961. It was used to promote
actions that achieve non-discrimination. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued
Executive Order 11246 which required government employers to take "affirmative action" to
"hire without regard to race, religion and national origin"