Hate it or love it, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, is causing quite a stir in our nation’s capital.

Congress’ attempts to pass a spending bill have been delayed, unsurprisingly, by disagreement between Republicans and Democrats.

Republican representatives won’t allow the spending bill to pass without amendments that delay the Affordable Care Act, and likewise, Democrats are unwilling to step down.

Regardless of which side you agree with, the lack of compromise is leading to something that threatens our nation as a whole: the threat of a government shutdown. At press time last night, Congress was still in session with the bill yet undecided.

The shutdown will hamper U.S. government services and temporarily unemploy employees of certain branches. Part of the shutdown decision is deciding what government branches are “essential” and “nonessential” to the nation. According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Postal Service will continue to be paid throughout the proposed shutdown because it is considered “essential.” So will departments for air traffic control, federal prisons, the U.S. military and other public servants.

But countless others will likely be put in the nonessential category, including national park rangers, immigration officers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and workers for passport and visa offices. Those put into this category have been judged as irrelevant to the temporary sustainment of the nation.

Though the shutdown is not meant to be a form of punishment, it results in the castigation of blameless government employees. These individuals, whether they are filing forms, overseeing visa applications or pursuing lawbreakers are not at fault for the government shutdown.

Interestingly enough, members of Congress have deemed themselves “essential” and will still work and (eventually) be paid for that work, even during the time of the shutdown.

It is Congress’ job to pass bills that fund the government, keeping it — and its various agencies — afloat. Considering that the deadline for these decisions is Sept. 30, the end of the government’s fiscal year, Congress’ actions are very, very late.

Our representatives’ failure to come to an acceptable agreement by deadline is a failure to do the jobs for which we pay them. Most people, whether they are students, cubicle jockeys or politicians, have deadlines. Our personal and professional lives are ruled by these markers of progress. Most people also have consequences to face when they miss these deadlines.

Again and again, our government has “missed” its deadlines. Earlier this year, Congress failed to meet the July 1 deadline for the student loan interest spike. President Barack Obama has submitted his budget to Congress late four out of the past five years. Of the Affordable Care Act’s 82 implementation deadlines, Forbes reports that only 32 were completed on time. Blame for these delays falls both on the Obama administration and Congress — 17 failed implementations were due to “lack of congressional appropriation.”

We, the American people, elected these individuals. A citizen does not have to agree with the Affordable Care Act to be angered that our politicians are not doing their jobs.

In our bipartisan government, there have always been disagreements. The differences in party platforms are what make American politics thrive. However, these differences should not keep our leaders from doing their jobs.

The conversation of government shutdown should not have even been approached. The fact that we have to think of shutting down whole branches of our government is an alarming sign of failure in our nation’s “leaders.”

Sept. 30 was Congress’ deadline. Our leaders, our representatives, have failed us by not meeting it. How many more times will this happen before the American people reconsider who they put in office?