government shutdown

Congress readies for more budget battles

Don Gonyea — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:03:12 +0000

As both sides sort out who won and who lost in the deal to keep the government running, the next phase of budget wrangling ensues.

The current-year budget deal struck Friday night still needs full congressional approval this week.

President Obama will deliver a speech Wednesday on the budget and the long-range deficits.

And sometime during the week, the House is expected to approve a new budget plan for next year that includes big changes in Medicare and Medicaid.

And none of that is to mention the looming battle about raising the federal debt ceiling.

The Current-Year Budget

Deal averting shutdown proves compromise is alive, if not well

Frank James — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 11:56:06 +0000
Reports of the death of compromise in Washington are greatly exaggerated.
That's one important message from the 11th-hour agreement that averted a partial shutdown of the federal government Friday night.
"No compromise" has been the rallying cry of the Tea Party movement. Some Republican lawmakers have echoed that.
But the agreement reached Friday was the epitome of compromise.

Just in time, a deal to avert a government shutdown

NPR.org — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 03:15:21 +0000
Congressional leaders and President Obama reached a budget agreement a little more than an hour before a midnight deadline for avoiding a partial shutdown of the federal government.

What's closed (and what's not) in a shutdown

NPR.org — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 20:21:41 +0000
The consequences of a partial government shutdown would be felt most immediately and visibly in areas where the public interacts directly with agencies. But if it drags on, those consequences could spread through the federal court system, the mortgage industry and even the launch of a space shuttle.
In the short term, the 394 sites run by the National Park Service would be closed, while income tax returns filed on paper would not be processed.

Time running out to avert partial government shutdown

Zoe Clark — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:47:51 +0000

Less than 24 hours remain for President Obama and Congressional leaders to avert a government shutdown. A deal to fund the federal government through September must be reached by midnight tonight to keep the government fully operating. President Obama and legislative leaders met again last night to narrow their differences over how much to cut the federal budget but no agreement was made.
NPR: GOP, Democrats Shift Blame As Shutdown Looms
The New York Times: No Accord in Budget Talks as Policy Fights Hamper Deal
The Washington Post: Budget Deal Continues to Elude Congress
Wall Street Journal: Dickering on Budget Goes Down to the Wire
Politico: White House Meeting Narrows Differences, But Still No Budget Deal
TheHill.com: Obama Cites Progress But 'No Wild Optimism' Ahead of Deadline

Not all will suffer if the government does shut down

Linton Weeks — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 22:41:15 +0000
[We asked NPR's Linton Weeks to think about some things that might benefit from a federal government shutdown.

GOP-controlled House passes stopgap spending bill

NPR.org — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:51:34 +0000
President Obama says another round of talks with congressional leaders has helped, but there is no deal yet to avert a government shutdown.
Obama said he hoped to be able to announce a deal on Friday but "there's no certainty yet." He said he told House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he wants an answer in the morning.
He said there were "a few issues that are outstanding.
"They are difficult issues. They're important to both sides, and so I'm not yet prepared to express wild optimism," he said.

How a shutdown would affect Michigan

Mark Brush — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:52:14 +0000

A shutdown of the federal government seems more likely as leaders in Congress don't seem to have a clear handle on where their disagreements lie.
The New York Times outlined the disagreement... over their disagreements...
Senate Majority Leader, Hary Reid (D-NV), said, "the numbers are basically there, but I am not nearly as optimistic, and that's an understatement, as I was 11 hours ago. The only thing holding up an agreement is ideology."
And House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) told reporters, "there is no agreement on a number. I think we were closer to a number last night than we are this morning. We're going to have real spending cuts. I don't know what some people don't understand about this."
So, a shutdown of the federal government is getting closer.

Essential Vs. Not: Which Jobs Wouldn't Shut Down?

Brian Naylor — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:44:45 +0000
In Washington, D.C., and at federal agencies across the country, the big question employees are asking on the eve of a possible government shutdown is: Am I essential or not? Workers and agencies that are deemed essential will be kept on the job if a shutdown occurs.
The Obama administration says the government agencies that will remain open fall into two broad categories. Most are those necessary for the protection of life and property — including the military, law enforcement such as the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Border Patrol.

Federal workers protest possible government shutdown

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:46:52 +0000

At Social Security Offices across the nation Wednesday workers stood outside and rallied against the looming government shutdown. Workers say House Republicans’ proposal to cut nearly $2 billion in SSA funding would lead to incredible delays for people in need.
Kathy Jackson works directly with individuals making Social Security claims. She says a shutdown could harm some of the nation’s most vulnerable people who aren’t able to manage delay’s as well as others.
“If you’re shut down for even two days, people have deadlines that they have to meet. The problem is a lot of our clients are disabled so a wait for them is not the same for you or I.”
Jackson says if people aren’t able to meet certain filing deadlines they can lose their eligibility for healthcare and housing programs that elderly, veterans, and disabled people need to survive. She says if people miss their chance because of a shutdown, they could be forced to start the process over.
Kenn Keillor  is president of the Grand Rapids local AFGE union. He says the House Republican’s proposal would mean a loss of 200-thousand jobs that both workers and people receiving services rely on.
"I’m a lot more effective inside doing my job than I am sitting at home drawing unemployment. If you don’t want welfare, then you’ve got to pay workers enough to raise their families. It’s not going to help anybody if we’re sent home on Monday.”
Keillor says federal employees across the country plan to head to work Monday morning whether there is a shutdown or not. The AFGE union covers workers with the Social Security Administration, Veteran’s Administration, Department of Defense and more than 30 other employee groups.

Michigan officials keeping close eye on federal budget negotiations

Zoe Clark — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:33:26 +0000

Governor Snyder’s administration says it expects most state services will continue with little or no disruption if a partial federal government shutdown occurs, the Associated Press reports. The federal government will partially shutdown tomorrow at midnight if there is not a deal to fund the government through September. From the AP:
Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said Wednesday that the administration is monitoring the situation closely and seeking more information. Key factors influencing the possible effects of a shutdown would be how the federal government defines essential services and how long a shutdown might last.
The federal government faces a partial shutdown Friday at midnight if Congress doesn't take action to avoid one.
Michigan's unemployment insurance agency says it expects benefits would continue to be paid to jobless workers, including the roughly 150,000 who now receive benefits under federal programs.
Michigan has about 52,000 federal government employees, including about 22,000 postal employees.

Countdown to federal government shutdown

Steve Carmody — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:46:09 +0000

The clock is ticking down to a possible federal government shutdown at the end of this week. And, Michigan lawmakers are playing pivotal roles in the budget debate.
Michigan congressmen Justin Amash and Tim Walberg are among a group of 13 House Republicans that have threatened to break with the GOP leadership on the budget negotiations. They’ve pushed budget amendments to slash$61 billion in spending.
Michigan Democratic Senator Carl Levin says far right Republicans in the House are preventing the two sides from reaching a budget deal.
“Right now the leadership of the House…Mr. Boehner…is a kind of a captive of the far right of the House.”
Levin complains that lawmakers with ties to the Tea Party don’t care if the federal government shuts down, since they believe government is the problem to begin with.

Upton expects federal government shutdown can be avoided

Steve Carmody — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 01:29:12 +0000

One Michigan congressman is downplaying warnings of a federal government shutdown next week.
Republicans in the House and Democrats in the Senate haven’t agreed on a continuing budget resolution to keep the federal government going beyond March 4^th.
Representative Fred Upton expects the US House will offer the US Senate a way to avoid a shutdown.
“My sense is that will we also in the House pass a short-term continuing resolution and send that to the Senate early in the week. Which will allow them to say…here’s a two week extension so we don’t have a shutdown by the end of the week…as well as the long-term…and then we’ll wait and see what the Senate does.”
Upton expects Congress will approve a short-term budget resolution before any federal government services are effected.