Politics
Obama: U.S. government shutdown threatening economy
Boehner said he didn’t want a government shutdown, but added the health care law “is having a devastating impact … Something has to be done.”
It wasn’t clear how long the standoff would last, but it appeared that Obama and Reid had the upper hand.
“We can’t win,” said Senator John McCain of Arizona, adding that “sooner or later” the House would have to agree to Democrats’ demands for a simple, straightforward funding bill reopening the government.
The order directing federal agencies to “execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations” was issued by White House Budget Director Sylvia Burwell shortly before midnight Monday.
Around the same time, Obama appeared in a video message assuring members of the military they will be paid under a law he just signed and telling civilian Defence Department employees that “you and your families deserve better than the dysfunction we’re seeing in Congress.”
The underlying spending bill would fund the government through November 15 if the Senate gets its way or until December 15 if the House does.
Until now, such bills have been routinely passed with bipartisan support, ever since a pair of shutdowns 17 years ago engineered by then-speaker Newt Gingrich severely damaged Republican election prospects and revived then-president Bill Clinton’s political standing.
