US govt shuts down for the first time in 17 years
WASHINGTON/SEOUL: Pentagon and administration lawyers are looking for ways to expand the number of defense department civilians who are exempt from furloughs, amid worries that the government shutdown is damaging US credibility among its international allies, defence secretary Chuck Hagel said on Tuesday.
Hagel, who is on a weeklong trip to South Korea and Japan for meetings with defense and diplomatic officials, said he is being asked about the budget battle during his visit.
"It does have an effect on our relationships around the world and it cuts straight to the obvious question: Can you rely on the United States as a reliable partner to fulfill its commitments to its allies?'' Hagel told reporters traveling with him. It does cast a very significant pall over America's credibility to our allies when this kind of thing happens.''
The US is putting a greater focus on the Asia-Pacific region, where nervous allies like Japan and South Korea worry about threats from North Korea and rely on America to provide them with broader missile defense capabilities and military aid.
Congress triggered the partial government shutdown on Monday when the House and Senate failed to reach an agreement on a budget bill, largely because of a long-running dispute over President Barack Obama's health care law.
Hagel acknowledged that the shutdown will affect the Pentagon's missions around the world, including military planning. But he said the US will continue to fulfill its responsibilities to its allies, and the military will continue to keep America safe.
The budget crisis has consumed chunks of Hagel's time on the trip. He left a dinner with senior South Korean leaders Monday night to talk with his top budget advisers, and was planning another call Tuesday night.
Half of the department's 800,000 civilian workers are slated for furloughs beginning on Tuesday. But Hagel said Pentagon lawyers are talking with the justice department and the office of management and budget to determine if they might be able to allow more of those 400,000 furloughed civilians to continue working. He said he has gotten no answer yet.
Some of the fewer than two dozen civilians traveling with Hagel could face furloughs once they are back in the US. While on the trip, they are considered exempt because they are directly supporting Hagel, so they don't have to cut short their travels and return home.
Active-duty military, who are exempt from the furloughs and will continue to work, will still be paid on time as a result of legislation passed by Congress and signed by Obama. Hagel said the civilians who are exempt from the furloughs will also continue to be paid on time.
A former US senator from Nebraska, Hagel was asked about Congress' recent inability to reach a budget agreement.
"I do worry though about the essence of governing in a democracy. We've seemed to lose that _ and that is consensus and compromise,'' he said. ``No democracy can govern itself without consensus and compromise.''
US government shuts down over 'Obamacare'
The United States plunged into a partial government shutdown on Tuesday for the first time in nearly two decades as an attempt by conservative Republicans to stop President Barack Obama's health care law stalled a temporary funding bill. About 800,000 federal workers are being forced off the job and most nonessential federal programmes and services are being suspended.
The shutdown, the first since one in the winter of 1995-96 severely damaged Republican election prospects, closed national parks and museums in Washington. Agencies like NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency will be all but shuttered.
People classified as essential government employees _ such as air traffic controllers, Border Patrol agents and most food inspectors _ will continue to work, and the state department will continue processing foreign applications for visas. Embassies and consulates overseas will continue to provide services to American citizens.
The health care law itself was unaffected as enrollment opened on Tuesday for millions of people shopping for medical insurance.
The US stock market dropped on fears that political gridlock between the White House and a Republican Party influenced by hardcore conservative tea party lawmakers would prevail, though analysts suggested significant damage to the national economy was unlikely unless a shutdown lasted more than a few days.
The stand-off pits Democrats and some mainstream Republicans against a core of conservative activists who have mounted a campaign to seize the must-do budget measure in an effort to derail the 2010 health care reform they have dubbed "Obamacare.''
There are few issues Republicans feel as passionately about as the health care law. They see the plan, intended to provide coverage for the millions of Americans now uninsured, as wasteful and restricting freedom by requiring most Americans to have health insurance.
Until now, such temporary spending bills have been routinely passed with bipartisan support, ever since a pair of unpopular shutdowns 17 years ago engineered by then-Speaker Newt Gingrichseverely damaged Republican election prospects and revived then-President Bill Clinton's political standing.
The Democratically controlled Senate twice on Monday rejected bills passed in the Republican-majority House of Representatives that conditioned keeping the government open on delaying key portions of the law. The House passed the last version again early on Tuesday; Senate majority leader Harry Reid said the same fate awaits it when the Senate reconvenes on Tuesday morning.
Obama accused Republicans of holding the budget hostage to get what they want.
"You don't get to extract a ransom for doing your job, for doing what you're supposed to be doing anyway, or just because there's a law there that you don't like,'' Obama said on Monday, delivering a similar message in private phone calls later to Republican House Speaker John Boehner and other lawmakers.
Boehner said he didn't want a government shutdown, but he insisted that the health care law "is having a devastating impact. ... Something has to be done.''
Republican leaders have voiced reservations about the effort and many lawmakers predicted it wouldn't work, fearing the public will blame their party for the shutdown. Some even labeled it "stupid.''
But individual Republican House members may face a greater risk by embracing a compromise. Many represent heavily partisan congressional districts, and voters in Republican primaries have ousted lawmakers they see as too moderate.
It wasn't clear how long the standoff would last, but it appeared that Obama and Reid had the upper hand.
"We can't win,'' said Republican Sen. John McCain, adding that "sooner or later'' the House would have to agree to Democrats' demands for a simple, straightforward funding bill reopening the government.
The order directing federal agencies to "execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations'' was issued by White House budget director Sylvia Burwell shortly before midnight on Monday.
The military will be paid under legislation freshly signed by Obama, but paychecks for other federal workers will be withheld until the impasse is broken. Federal workers were told to report to their jobs for a half-day but to perform only shutdown tasks like changing email greetings and closing down agencies' Internet sites.
The self-funded Postal Service will continue to operate and the government will continue to pay retirement benefits and health benefits for the poor and elderly.
Obama appeared in a video message assuring members of the military they'll be paid under a law he just signed and told civilian defense department employees who won't be paid that "you and your families deserve better than the dysfunction we're seeing in Congress.''
The underlying spending bill would fund the government through Nov. 15 if the Senate gets its way or until Dec. 15 if the House does.
The prospect of a shutdown led US stocks to sink as Wall Street worried the budget fight could lead to something much worse for the economy _ a failure to raise the nation's borrowing limit.
Republicans are likely to take up the health care fight again when Congress must pass a measure to increase the borrowing cap, which is expected to hit its $16.7 trillion ceiling in mid-October.
Obama has vowed not to negotiate over the debt ceiling, noting that a default would be worse for the economy than a partial government shutdown. The U.S. risks a market-rattling, first-ever default on its obligations if Congress fails to raise that limit
.
Hagel, who is on a weeklong trip to South Korea and Japan for meetings with defense and diplomatic officials, said he is being asked about the budget battle during his visit.
"It does have an effect on our relationships around the world and it cuts straight to the obvious question: Can you rely on the United States as a reliable partner to fulfill its commitments to its allies?'' Hagel told reporters traveling with him. It does cast a very significant pall over America's credibility to our allies when this kind of thing happens.''
The US is putting a greater focus on the Asia-Pacific region, where nervous allies like Japan and South Korea worry about threats from North Korea and rely on America to provide them with broader missile defense capabilities and military aid.
Congress triggered the partial government shutdown on Monday when the House and Senate failed to reach an agreement on a budget bill, largely because of a long-running dispute over President Barack Obama's health care law.
Hagel acknowledged that the shutdown will affect the Pentagon's missions around the world, including military planning. But he said the US will continue to fulfill its responsibilities to its allies, and the military will continue to keep America safe.
The budget crisis has consumed chunks of Hagel's time on the trip. He left a dinner with senior South Korean leaders Monday night to talk with his top budget advisers, and was planning another call Tuesday night.
Half of the department's 800,000 civilian workers are slated for furloughs beginning on Tuesday. But Hagel said Pentagon lawyers are talking with the justice department and the office of management and budget to determine if they might be able to allow more of those 400,000 furloughed civilians to continue working. He said he has gotten no answer yet.
Some of the fewer than two dozen civilians traveling with Hagel could face furloughs once they are back in the US. While on the trip, they are considered exempt because they are directly supporting Hagel, so they don't have to cut short their travels and return home.
Active-duty military, who are exempt from the furloughs and will continue to work, will still be paid on time as a result of legislation passed by Congress and signed by Obama. Hagel said the civilians who are exempt from the furloughs will also continue to be paid on time.
A former US senator from Nebraska, Hagel was asked about Congress' recent inability to reach a budget agreement.
"I do worry though about the essence of governing in a democracy. We've seemed to lose that _ and that is consensus and compromise,'' he said. ``No democracy can govern itself without consensus and compromise.''
US government shuts down over 'Obamacare'
The United States plunged into a partial government shutdown on Tuesday for the first time in nearly two decades as an attempt by conservative Republicans to stop President Barack Obama's health care law stalled a temporary funding bill. About 800,000 federal workers are being forced off the job and most nonessential federal programmes and services are being suspended.
The shutdown, the first since one in the winter of 1995-96 severely damaged Republican election prospects, closed national parks and museums in Washington. Agencies like NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency will be all but shuttered.
People classified as essential government employees _ such as air traffic controllers, Border Patrol agents and most food inspectors _ will continue to work, and the state department will continue processing foreign applications for visas. Embassies and consulates overseas will continue to provide services to American citizens.
The health care law itself was unaffected as enrollment opened on Tuesday for millions of people shopping for medical insurance.
The US stock market dropped on fears that political gridlock between the White House and a Republican Party influenced by hardcore conservative tea party lawmakers would prevail, though analysts suggested significant damage to the national economy was unlikely unless a shutdown lasted more than a few days.
The stand-off pits Democrats and some mainstream Republicans against a core of conservative activists who have mounted a campaign to seize the must-do budget measure in an effort to derail the 2010 health care reform they have dubbed "Obamacare.''
There are few issues Republicans feel as passionately about as the health care law. They see the plan, intended to provide coverage for the millions of Americans now uninsured, as wasteful and restricting freedom by requiring most Americans to have health insurance.
Until now, such temporary spending bills have been routinely passed with bipartisan support, ever since a pair of unpopular shutdowns 17 years ago engineered by then-Speaker Newt Gingrichseverely damaged Republican election prospects and revived then-President Bill Clinton's political standing.
The Democratically controlled Senate twice on Monday rejected bills passed in the Republican-majority House of Representatives that conditioned keeping the government open on delaying key portions of the law. The House passed the last version again early on Tuesday; Senate majority leader Harry Reid said the same fate awaits it when the Senate reconvenes on Tuesday morning.
Obama accused Republicans of holding the budget hostage to get what they want.
"You don't get to extract a ransom for doing your job, for doing what you're supposed to be doing anyway, or just because there's a law there that you don't like,'' Obama said on Monday, delivering a similar message in private phone calls later to Republican House Speaker John Boehner and other lawmakers.
Boehner said he didn't want a government shutdown, but he insisted that the health care law "is having a devastating impact. ... Something has to be done.''
Republican leaders have voiced reservations about the effort and many lawmakers predicted it wouldn't work, fearing the public will blame their party for the shutdown. Some even labeled it "stupid.''
But individual Republican House members may face a greater risk by embracing a compromise. Many represent heavily partisan congressional districts, and voters in Republican primaries have ousted lawmakers they see as too moderate.
It wasn't clear how long the standoff would last, but it appeared that Obama and Reid had the upper hand.
"We can't win,'' said Republican Sen. John McCain, adding that "sooner or later'' the House would have to agree to Democrats' demands for a simple, straightforward funding bill reopening the government.
The order directing federal agencies to "execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations'' was issued by White House budget director Sylvia Burwell shortly before midnight on Monday.
The military will be paid under legislation freshly signed by Obama, but paychecks for other federal workers will be withheld until the impasse is broken. Federal workers were told to report to their jobs for a half-day but to perform only shutdown tasks like changing email greetings and closing down agencies' Internet sites.
The self-funded Postal Service will continue to operate and the government will continue to pay retirement benefits and health benefits for the poor and elderly.
Obama appeared in a video message assuring members of the military they'll be paid under a law he just signed and told civilian defense department employees who won't be paid that "you and your families deserve better than the dysfunction we're seeing in Congress.''
The underlying spending bill would fund the government through Nov. 15 if the Senate gets its way or until Dec. 15 if the House does.
The prospect of a shutdown led US stocks to sink as Wall Street worried the budget fight could lead to something much worse for the economy _ a failure to raise the nation's borrowing limit.
Republicans are likely to take up the health care fight again when Congress must pass a measure to increase the borrowing cap, which is expected to hit its $16.7 trillion ceiling in mid-October.
Obama has vowed not to negotiate over the debt ceiling, noting that a default would be worse for the economy than a partial government shutdown. The U.S. risks a market-rattling, first-ever default on its obligations if Congress fails to raise that limit
.
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