The House of Representatives rejected three emergency funding bills Tuesday that would have re-opened several federal agencies closed because of the budget impasse.
The bills would have opened national parks and monuments, funded veteran’s benefits and allowed D.C.’s municipal government to continue operating.
Senate Democrats and President Obama both said they would not support the bills had the House passed them.
“The president and the Senate have been clear that they won’t accept this kind of game-playing, and if these bills were to come to the president’s desk he would veto them,” said White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage. “These piecemeal efforts are not serious and they are no way to run a government.”
The House appointed conferees that would participate in a conference committee to craft a bill that would pass both the House and Senate. However, no Democrats have been willing to meet with the Republicans in a conference.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told Congressional leaders on Tuesday night that without an increase in the debt limit, the Treasury Department will be using their last set of accounting moves to allow the government to keep paying bills.
Lew said unless the debt ceiling is raised by October 17, payments could be delayed to U.S. debt holders, government contractors and Social Security recipients. He also said the government shutdown would have very little impact on the deadline date.
“If we have insufficient cash on hand, it would be impossible for the United States of America to meet all of its obligations for the first time in our history,” he wrote. “For this reason, I respectfully urge Congress to act immediately to meet its responsibility by extending the nation’s borrowing authority.”
The Obama administration has said they will not negotiate over the debt ceiling on top of not negotiating over the government shutdown.
The U.S. Dollar has fallen to an 8-month low due to the government shutdown that has caused concern in major trading markets.
Analysts say the dollar index, which fell to 79.864, did not fall as far as it could have fallen because investors and traders had expected the shutdown. The dollar index tracks the Dollar against six major world currencies.
The dollar fell to an 8-month low against the Euro and an 18-month low against the Swiss franc.
The economic impact is being debated among economists and analysts. Goldman Sachs says a three-week government shutdown could end up lowering the country’s GDP by 0.9% this quarter.
Other analysts say the government’s lack of agreement on raising the “debt ceiling” is a bigger concern to world economic markets. The current debt ceiling is scheduled to be reached on October 17th.
Economists also say the shutdown will delay key reports from the Labor Department that assist in predicting financial outcomes and forecasts.
While many government workers will not be showing up at their jobs Tuesday because of the government shutdown, some workers will be looking at a financial windfall thanks to regulations.
Employees who are considered essential and “excepted” will not only continue to work but will be able to pick up overtime, compensatory time and other benefits. Continue reading →
The National Parks Service has admitted that because of the government shutdown, it will be illegal for anyone to walk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
“The mall theoretically is legally closed,” NPS Spokeswoman Carol Johnson told TheBlaze. “Now, obviously people walking across it … there is nothing much we can do, but it is legally closed.” Continue reading →
The veterans piled off the chartered buses in front of the World War II Memorial, some in wheelchairs, some using canes, all determined to pay homage to each other and their fallen comrades from more than half a century ago. Continue reading →
Second or third or fourth verse, same as the first. Continue reading →
The partial government shutdown that began Tuesday left many federal workers uncertain of their financial future, with many facing unpaid furloughs or delays in paychecks. Continue reading →
The U.S. government launched the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare reform on Tuesday, opening new insurance marketplaces across the country for millions of uninsured Americans, but technical glitches prevented early access to many of their websites. Continue reading →
Federal workers will still have to report to work for about four hours Tuesday even though the government is shutting down. Continue reading →