Does Federal Shutdown Could Affect Americans? - The Obama Administration isn't saying what exactly it will do if the federal government runs out of funding on March 4. House Republicans plan to vote next week on a two-week funding extension that would cut $4 billion, while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has proposed a 30-day extension that maintains current funding. Pentagon, Prisons, and Postal Service
The federal government would never entirely close up shop. Air-traffic control would continue, as would border patrol, the operation of federal prisons, disaster assistance, and medical care, according to a Feb. 18 Congressional Research Service report. After President Bill Clinton and a Republican Congress couldn't agree on spending, the government twice ran out of funding: from Nov. 14-19, 1995, and from Dec. 16, 1995 to Jan. 6, 1996.
About 285,000 federal employees were sent home without pay and a further 476,000 were forced to work without pay. Clinton said on Jan. 20, 1996, that the shutdowns had cost the federal government a total of $1.5 billion, or $2.1 billion in today's dollars—a number that does not include indirect costs. When the shutdowns ended, all employees had back salaries paid.
Benefit Slowdowns or Outright Cuts
• A shortage of federal funds eventually led 11 states and the District of Columbia to stop providing unemployment benefits when they couldn't or wouldn't fill the gap with their own funds. Other benefits were slowed or stopped entirely: Veterans stopped receiving some payments, including insurance death claims and checks for education provided by the GI Bill. Delays hit recipients of federal welfare programs and adoption-assistance services, along with children in foster care and in the Head Start early childhood program.
The impasse between the White House and Congress increasingly looks like it will force the government to shut down by the weekend, with a spending summit yielding no deal on Tuesday.
The Tuesday summit with the president, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid seemed only to aggravate the two sides, and a followup meeting between the two congressional leaders didn’t seem to make any progress of funding the government through Sept. 30.
Federal Workers Union Sues White House Over Possible Government Shutdown
Capitol Hill staff continued to meet into the night Tuesday, a senior administration official told Fox News. The government already is operating on a two-week, stopgap spending measure because Republicans and Democrats couldn't agree on a long-term bill. Obama suggested Tuesday that he had no interest in signing another short-term measure just to keep the debate going.
"We've already done that twice," Obama said. Obama said that Democrats have agreed with Republicans on how much to cut from the budget and that he won't accept another temporary spending bill that House Republicans are rallying behind to keep the lights on for another week.
In a statement following the private White House meeting earlier Tuesday, Boehner had said there was no deal. The GOP-led House has already passed a pair of stopgap bills, so far cutting $10 billion from an estimated $1.2 trillion budget to fund the day-to-day operations of government through Sept. 30.
Obama said he would only accept another short-term funding extension, of two or three days, in order to get a longer-term deal through Congress. Republicans are already pointing their fingers at the White House for not considering another temporary spending bill.
"The White House has increased the likelihood of a shutdown," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said.
Hoyer, who has voted for previous temporary spending bills, said they are "ineffective, inefficient and costly."
Most every department of the government would face some kind of cut from prior spending levels, including military construction, high speed rail corridor funding, first responder grants, foreign assistance accounts and hospital readiness grants.
Stopgap measures, though, have become increasingly unpopular in Congress, particularly among House conservatives, and Republicans could have to look to moderate Blue Dog Democrats to help pick up votes. At the same time, congressional leaders were at the White House trying to work out a deal to fund the government for the rest of the year.
As negotiations continue, the administration is preparing for a possible government shutdown.
A top official at the White House Office of Management and Budget has written a memo to agency heads directing them to review and share their contingency plans for a shutdown.
The Committee on House Administration also sent out a memo instructing employers in the House of Representatives to determine which "essential personnel" should keep working should funding lapse.
The federal government would never entirely close up shop. Air-traffic control would continue, as would border patrol, the operation of federal prisons, disaster assistance, and medical care, according to a Feb. 18 Congressional Research Service report. After President Bill Clinton and a Republican Congress couldn't agree on spending, the government twice ran out of funding: from Nov. 14-19, 1995, and from Dec. 16, 1995 to Jan. 6, 1996.
About 285,000 federal employees were sent home without pay and a further 476,000 were forced to work without pay. Clinton said on Jan. 20, 1996, that the shutdowns had cost the federal government a total of $1.5 billion, or $2.1 billion in today's dollars—a number that does not include indirect costs. When the shutdowns ended, all employees had back salaries paid.
Benefit Slowdowns or Outright Cuts
• A shortage of federal funds eventually led 11 states and the District of Columbia to stop providing unemployment benefits when they couldn't or wouldn't fill the gap with their own funds. Other benefits were slowed or stopped entirely: Veterans stopped receiving some payments, including insurance death claims and checks for education provided by the GI Bill. Delays hit recipients of federal welfare programs and adoption-assistance services, along with children in foster care and in the Head Start early childhood program.
The impasse between the White House and Congress increasingly looks like it will force the government to shut down by the weekend, with a spending summit yielding no deal on Tuesday.
The Tuesday summit with the president, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid seemed only to aggravate the two sides, and a followup meeting between the two congressional leaders didn’t seem to make any progress of funding the government through Sept. 30.
Federal Workers Union Sues White House Over Possible Government Shutdown
Capitol Hill staff continued to meet into the night Tuesday, a senior administration official told Fox News. The government already is operating on a two-week, stopgap spending measure because Republicans and Democrats couldn't agree on a long-term bill. Obama suggested Tuesday that he had no interest in signing another short-term measure just to keep the debate going.
"We've already done that twice," Obama said. Obama said that Democrats have agreed with Republicans on how much to cut from the budget and that he won't accept another temporary spending bill that House Republicans are rallying behind to keep the lights on for another week.
In a statement following the private White House meeting earlier Tuesday, Boehner had said there was no deal. The GOP-led House has already passed a pair of stopgap bills, so far cutting $10 billion from an estimated $1.2 trillion budget to fund the day-to-day operations of government through Sept. 30.
Obama said he would only accept another short-term funding extension, of two or three days, in order to get a longer-term deal through Congress. Republicans are already pointing their fingers at the White House for not considering another temporary spending bill.
"The White House has increased the likelihood of a shutdown," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said.
Hoyer, who has voted for previous temporary spending bills, said they are "ineffective, inefficient and costly."
Most every department of the government would face some kind of cut from prior spending levels, including military construction, high speed rail corridor funding, first responder grants, foreign assistance accounts and hospital readiness grants.
Stopgap measures, though, have become increasingly unpopular in Congress, particularly among House conservatives, and Republicans could have to look to moderate Blue Dog Democrats to help pick up votes. At the same time, congressional leaders were at the White House trying to work out a deal to fund the government for the rest of the year.
As negotiations continue, the administration is preparing for a possible government shutdown.
A top official at the White House Office of Management and Budget has written a memo to agency heads directing them to review and share their contingency plans for a shutdown.
The Committee on House Administration also sent out a memo instructing employers in the House of Representatives to determine which "essential personnel" should keep working should funding lapse.
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