No sign of end to Congressional impasse

Impacts from federal shutdown vary across government

————————

There’s no sign of an immediate end to the partial shutdown of the federal government that began Monday at midnight, Sept. 30, and closed the gates at Glacier National Park.

President Barack Obama met with congressional leaders on Oct. 2 for the first time since the shutdown began. But House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters afterwards that Obama “refuses to negotiate.”

Spending legislation for the next fiscal year failed to pass after House Republicans and Senate Democrats reached loggerheads over Obamacare. The Senate refused to approve the House bill, which did not provide funding for Obamacare.

Some experts say the current impasse may not be as important as a vote to raise the federal debt ceiling. The deadline for that vote is Oct. 17.

In the meantime, the House passed a measure on Oct. 2 that would fund the national parks and the National Institutes of Health, but Democrats criticized their approach and called for a “clean spending bill” for the entire government.

On Oct. 3, the House followed up by passing a measure to provide full appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs and to ensure that all National Guard members and reservists performing inactive-duty training receive their pay and allowances.

House Democrats tried on Oct. 2 to get a spending bill on the floor that would pass in the Senate and end the shutdown, but their attempt was turned down by a 227-197 vote, with all Republicans in opposition.

Montana’s lone House member, Republican Rep. Steve Daines, applauded passage of the House measure to keep America’s national parks open. He said the measure passed with bipartisan support and noted the importance of Glacier and Yellowstone national parks to Montana’s economy.

“We are seeing firsthand, as we’re listening to phone calls coming in from constituents across my state, the undue hardships that communities surrounding Glacier and Yellowstone national parks are facing due to Washington, D.C.’s failures,” he told the House. “They’re being affected by these parks being shut down — they depend on these parks for tourism, for economic growth, for jobs.”

Back in Washington, D.C., the Republican National Committee announced it would pay for the personnel needed to reopen the World War II Memorial, which is a destination for many older veterans from across the U.S. Democrats called the committee’s offer a stunt.

The U.S. Constitution guarantees that members of Congress get paid, but as of Oct. 2, a total of 108 members said they would either donate their pay or refuse to accept it during the shutdown. That included 56 Republicans and 52 Democrats. Members of the House and Senate earn $174,000 a year, but the leaders earn more.

Daines said he’ll donate his salary during the shutdown to Big Sky Honor Flight, which honors veterans by providing them with a flight to the war memorials in Washington, D.C. Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, both Democrats, were not on the list of Congressional members compiled by The Washington Post.

Impacts across the federal government from the shutdown varied from agency to agency:

• The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development listed only 6 percent of their workers as essential and therefore allowed to work during the shutdown.

• National Intelligence Director James Clapper and National Security Agency Chief Gen. Keith Alexander told a Senate committee that about 70 percent of their civilian employees had been furloughed, which was endangering national security.

• The Bureau of Indian Affairs said essential activities will be funded during the shutdown, such as law enforcement, firefighting and some social services. Programs that will be idled included residential care for adults and children, cash assistance for the poor and payments to vendors who provide foster care. Some tribes said they will try to fill the gap themselves.

• About 200 U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency workers in Montana were furloughed.

• Payments from Social Security and Veterans Affairs will continue, but some organizations receiving funding from Veterans Affairs could lose funding if the shutdown continues for a long time.

• Since its revenue comes from fees, the U.S. Postal Service will continue to operate during the shutdown.

• Fees will also keep the federal courts open — at least for 10 days or so.

• Both air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration personnel will continue to work at airports.

• The Food and Drug Administration will continue to handle high-risk recalls but will stop routine inspections.

• The Internal Revenue Service will continue to collect taxes, but it will suspend audits and toll-free help lines.

• The regular military will remain on duty, but their paychecks will be delayed, and about 3,500 Montana National Guard troops were told not to report to exercises this weekend.