Republicans Shutdown Government
Shutdown begins as Republicans refuse to give up ObamaCare attacks. WSJ: "On a 228-199 vote, the House passed a measure instructing House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) to appoint a set of negotiators to work out a budget resolution with a small group with senators. But the GOP move carried no concessions on the party’s central demand—that Democrats agree to scale back the new federal health law ... Boehner sidestepped the question of whether the House would now be willing to consider a spending bill stripped of health-care riders, as Senate Democrats have demanded. He said he hoped 'the Senate will take our offer to go to conference and let us resolve our differences.'"
GOP braced for blame. Politico: "...there is palpable fear among Republicans on Capitol Hill that they will not be rewarded ... many congressional Republicans argued that their best hope is that the shutdown will be short, the GOP can secure at least one concession from Obama and that voters will forget about the budget debacle by next November, instead applauding them for fighting a health care law they see as completely unworkable. But even that may be a stretch, a number of Republicans concede."
"Not giving an inch is seen as best strategy for win at White House" says The Hill: "Sources said the White House believes GOP divisions, and polls showing more people would blame Republicans in Congress for a shutdown, mean Obama — who has been blamed for giving in too much in previous bargaining sessions — won’t have to give an inch. White House officials were even more emboldened by support from Senate Republicans..."
Here's what's closed. McClatchy: "... The State Department, for example, will have to halt some processing of passport applications ... Most of the Treasury Department’s law enforcement support functions tied to the Bank Secrecy Act will be halted, interrupting efforts to crack down on money laundering and other financial crimes ... about half of the Pentagon’s 718,000 civilian employees will be barred from working. All travel and training of both military and civilian personnel will stop ... Museums and national parks nationwide will close or operate on the thinnest of staffing ... Most of NASA will be shut temporarily ... The arts will take a hit with closures of everything from the Smithsonian Institution’s 19 museums and the National Zoo in Washington ..."
Here's who gets hurt. The Nation: "About 800,000 of 2.1 million federal employees will be furloughed, with no guarantee of retroactive pay ... Low-income women and children, on the other hand, may not be able to access food and health care. That’s because federal funds will not be available for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides food benefits and clinical services ... Food stamp recipients would still receive their benefits through the SNAP program, but other nutritional programs would shut down. Several Head Start programs, which have already experienced crippling budget cuts under sequestration, would feel immediate effects and may be unable to offer educational services to children. By late October, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs will run out of funds to pay compensation and pension to more than 3.6 million veterans."
Shutdown may push back debt limit deadline, says Dean Baker: "...it is possible that the government is not even borrowing at all during the period of shutdown. This means that the shutdown will extend the date at which a debt ceiling will be reached. That would change if the standoff is settled and all the delayed payments are made retroactively."
ObamaCare Exchanges Open Today Anyway
Shutdown can't stop enrollment for ObamaCare. Reuters: "The first enrollees are likely to be people with pre-existing health conditions and older people who have had a hard time obtaining coverage up to now. But Obamacare's success will depend on young healthy adults, whose lower risk profile is needed to compensate for higher cost beneficiaries ... As many as 7 million Americans are expected to sign up for insurance in 2014 through the exchanges, which open for enrollment into new insurance plans on Tuesday and will accept applications through March 31. An additional 8 million people are expected to receive health benefits through an expansion of the government's Medicaid program for the poor."
Republicans fret that people will like it. McClatchy: "A relatively drama-free rollout of the law this fall could shatter what has been a key pillar of the Republican agenda. More worrisome still to some GOP strategists: The law's new benefits may prove popular with millions of Americans who have been unable to get health insurance."
