Partial shutdown of US government

Partial shutdown of US government

The House of Representatives effectively sent the US government into shutdown late Monday, moving to go to conference about reaching a budget deal with the Senate just one hour before a midnight deadline.

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The House of Representatives effectively sent the US government into shutdown late Monday, moving to go to conference about reaching a budget deal with the Senate just one hour before a midnight deadline.
 
After a series of back-and-forth votes in both chambers that did nothing to bring Congress closer to an agreement over how to temporarily fund the government, House leaders moved to appoint conferees to hash out a deal.
 
But the procedures of Congress make it virtually impossible to pass legislation from this vantage point quickly enough to meet the deadline.
 
"We're attempting to get our people together," said Republican congressman Pete Sessions, chairman of the House Rules Committee that went into emergency session with barely an hour to spare.
 
"There could be a conference as early as tonight."
 
Democrats on the committee were not buying it, with congressman Alcee Hastings issuing a blistering critique of House leadership.
 
"It is impossible for a conference to get together before 2:00 am" (0600 GMT) Tuesday, Hastings said in committee.
 
Democrat James McGovern concurred, saying "I can't imagine you working out any differences between now and the time the government shuts down."
 
The Rules Committee voted 9-4 on the motion, setting up a rapid-fire series of political steps, that are nonetheless unlikely to be completed by midnight.
 
Republican have offered three bills that fund government into the next fiscal year which begins Tuesday, but each attached controversial provisions that sought to either defund or delay President Barack Obama's health care law.
 
Obama and Democrats want Congress to pass a "clean" budget, with no political or ideology-driven providers attached, while Republicans are intent on trying to unravel so-called "Obamacare," the president's signature domestic legislative achievement.
 
Failing to reach a deal assures a shutdown ensues, forcing hundreds of thousands of federal employees to stay home and more than a million others to work without pay, and potentially giving a hammer blow to a slowly recovering US economy.
 
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's frustration at the exercise showed on the floor.
 
"Tonight, we have more proof that House Republicans have lost their minds," he said after the latest House vote.
 
"Instead of allowing all 435 members of the House of Representatives to vote on the Senate's bill to keep the government open for business, Speaker (John) Boehner is once again pushing a government shutdown."
 
Asked if the House might relent before midnight and pass a clean budget measure with no provisions, a Republican House aide told AFP: "not gonna happen."
 
-Sapa
 

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