berita hari ini : Washington braces for prolonged government shutdown - Washington Post The U.S. government began to shut down for the first time in 17 years early Tuesday, after a Congress bitterly divided over President Obama’s signature health-care initiative failed to reach agreement to fund federal agencies. Thousands of government workers arrived at federal office buildings to clean off their desk, set out-of-office e-mail messages and make whatever arrangements were necessary so they could stay off the job indefinitely. Others, including border patrol officers, prison guards and air traffic controllers, were required to work but were told they may not be paid. Washington’s iconic monuments and memorials were still open in the early morning hours, but the National Park Service soon dispatched workers to shut them down and move barricades into place. Signs posted on the barriers erected at the entrance to the Lincoln Memorial read: “Because of the federal government shutdown all national parks are closed.” At 1 a.m., the House of Representatives voted — largely along party lines — to request a special House-Senate conference committee to resolve differences between the two parties on how to fund the government, including whether to link that funding to changes in the health-care law, which is strongly opposed by many Republicans. But Senate Democratic leaders indicated that they would reject that request. They said they are willing to have a conference committee — and have been asking Republicans for months to form one to discuss a full-year budget — but will not do so while the government in shut down and the Republicans are insisting on linking government funding to changes in the health-care law. “We’re prepared to go to that conference, but we want the government open and functioning,” Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said on CNN early Tuesday. “Then we can work out whatever differences we have.” The Senate was expected to vote some time after 9:30 a.m. to reject the Republican proposal for a conference. The latest budget legislation passed by the Republican-controlled House seeks to undermine the Affordable Care Act by delaying enforcement of the “individual mandate,” a cornerstone of the law that requires all Americans to obtain health insurance. The new measure also sought to strip lawmakers and their aides of long-standing government health benefits. The bill was passed hours before the midnight deadline, and quickly rejected by the Democratic-controlled Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) urged House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) to abandon the assault on the health-care law and pass a simple bill to keep the government open. Otherwise, Reid warned, “the responsibility for this Republican government shutdown will rest squarely on his shoulders.” Boehner refused to yield. He instead won approval the request for a special House-Senate committee to meet in the coming days to resolve differences between the two parties, leaving in limbo the fate of millions of federal workers and the services they provide. Shortly before midnight, the White House budget office issued a memo instructing agencies to “execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations.” klik baca selanjutnya : bit.ly/1hjLAAL
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 04:26:42 +0000
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