US shutdown forces eight lakh workers to go on unpaid leave

mangaloretoday.com

Washington, Oct 1, 2013, NYT: The vast machinery of the federal government began grinding to a halt on Tuesday morning, just hours after weary lawmakers gave up hope of passing a budget in the face of Republican attacks on President Obama’s healthcare law.

For the first time in 17 years, Congress failed on Monday to agree on a new budget and refused to extend the current one. Without the authority to spend money, the executive branch on Tuesday morning started the process of temporarily mothballing facilities and suspending many services which the government provides.

 

After a series of back-and-forth legislative manoeuvres late on Monday night and into Tuesday morning, the House and Senate did not reach a resolution. The Senate halted business until Tuesday while the House took steps to open talks. But Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, was dismissive of the House proposal to begin conference committee negotiations, and the next legislative steps remained uncertain.

About 800,000 federal workers in the US were told to stay at home while national parks, museums, government buildings and services shutdown as a result of the deadlock in the Congress. Travelling in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel called the shutdown “nonsensical” and said it would lead to the immediate furlough of about 400,000 civilian employees. (President Obama signed legislation late on Monday night, ensuring that uniformed members of the military get paid during the shutdown.)

“It does cast a very significant pall over America’s credibility with our allies when this kind of thing happens,” Hagel said. “It’s nonsensical. It’s needless. It didn’t have to happen.”

At the Justice Department, Attorney General Eric Holder pledged to give back a portion of his salary in solidarity with his employees.