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Washington (CNN) — The game of chicken failed. Neither side blinked. Now millions will pay the price.
Americans watched a colossal failure by Congress overnight and the shutdown of their government.
For weeks, the House and the Senate blamed and bickered, each claiming they’re standing up for what the public wants.
In the end, it led to the one outcome nobody wanted — one that will stop 800,000 Americans from getting paid and could cost the economy about $1 billion a week.
“Agencies should now execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations,” the Office of Management & Budget said in a note it sent to federal employees.
This is the first time the government has shut down in nearly 18 years. The last time it did, the stalemate lasted 21 days.
Boehner blames Senate for shutdown
Tea Party reacts to shutdown
Boehner: President ‘won’t negotiate’
The game is the same, but many of the players have changed. Congress and the president are facing off in another supreme spending showdown. If they don’t agree on a funding bill by the end of September 30, much of government will shutdown. This last happened in 2011, when Congress avoided a shutdown by passing a spending measure shortly after the midnight deadline hit. Who controls what happens this time? Take a look at the key players who will determine how this fight ends:
– From CNN Capitol Hill Reporter Lisa Desjardins. CNN’s Deirdre Walsh and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina — The architect. During Congress’ August recess, the tea party-backed freshman wrote to Republican leaders suggesting that they tie dismantling Obamacare to the funding bill. Though initially rejected by GOP leadership, 79 of Meadows’ House colleagues signed on to the letter, which quoted James Madison writing in the Federalist Papers, “the power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon … for obtaining a redress of every grievance.”
Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio — The coach. He’ll make the key play call. The top Republican leader in the land may be the most important player in the days immediately before a possible shutdown. Boehner could decide whether to push through the Senate’s version of a spending bill and keep government running, or he could float a third version with some other Republican wish list items in it. If he takes the second option, Boehner could risk a shutdown but could also force the Senate into a tough position: give House Republicans something or send federal workers home. Timing on all this will be critical.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas — The revolutionary or rabble rouser, depending on your viewpoint. The tea party firebrand could lead a long filibuster on the Senate floor, delaying passage of a spending bill until just one day before the deadline on Monday, September 30. Cruz has stoked the anti-Obamacare flames all summer, but recently angered fellow Republicans by openly saying that the Senate does not have the votes to repeal the health care law.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida — Senator to watch. The potential presidential candidate has been one of three senators (Cruz and Mike Lee, R-Utah, being the others) pushing to use the government shutdown debate as a way to repeal or defund Obamacare. But watch his actions and language as a shutdown nears to see if he digs in or if downshifts at all.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada — The man steering the ship in the Senate. Master at using Senate procedure to his advantage, Reid is the main force in controlling the voting process in the chamber and ensuring that an attempted filibuster by tea party-types fails. The majority leader will be a primary negotiator if we reach phase three, if the House does not accept the Senate spending bill.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky — If Reid steers the ship, McConnell controls the headwinds. Which is good news for Reid, at least initially. The Republican leader and several of his members say they will vote against Cruz’s filibuster and in favor of a spending bill with no limits on Obamacare. Meaning, in favor of a bill that just funds government. McConnell generally has been leery of running into a shutdown or default. In fact, one legislative method for avoiding default is named after him.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington — The consigliore. Murray, center, does not seek the outside limelight, but the Senate Budget Committee chairwoman is a major fiscal force behind the scenes on Capitol Hill. Known by fellow Democrats as a straight shooter, she is also an experienced negotiator, having co-chaired the laborious, somewhat torturous and unsuccessful Super Committee.
Rep. Tom Graves, R-Georgia — The new militia leader. The freshman congressman from Georgia, second from right, is one reason the debate has reached this point. Graves led the charge that blocked the original proposal by House Republican leaders. That would have kept government funded and had a detachable portion on Obamacare. Instead Graves and other conservatives forced their leaders to pass a spending bill with a mandatory defunding of Obamacare.
Rep. Peter King, R-New York — The blunt statesman. King is outspoken against many tea party tactics, calling the move to tie Obamacare to the must-pass spending bill essentially a suicide mission and Cruz “a fraud.” He is pushing for Republicans to accept a more “clean” spending bill that can pass the Senate and avoid a shutdown.
Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — The heavy. Donohue is known for his deep connections and his aggressive lobbying on behalf of business. He and the Chamber are urging Republican lawmakers to avoid a shutdown. The Chamber is an important political backer for conservatives, but has had mixed success with the current Congress, locking in firm anti-tax positions but unable to push through immigration reform so far.
Michael Needham, president of Heritage Action — The driving force. Needham runs the political offshoot of the conservative Heritage Foundation and has been unrelenting in urging lawmakers to repeal Obamacare. He has told Republicans not to fear a potential shutdown, saying they would suffer more politically from allowing Obamacare to continue.
President Barack Obama — The campaigner and CEO. Expect the president to use his podium more as a shutdown nears, aiming at public opinion as Democrats in Congress position themselves. If House Republicans send back a new proposal close to the September 30 deadline, the president and Democrats will have to decide what move to make next.
Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Virginia — The powerful lieutenant. Cantor, the House Republican No. 2, is much more closely allied with conservatives and tea party members in the House than is Speaker Boehner. The two have not always agreed on every strategy during potential shutdown debates, but have been in public lockstep during the current go-around.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland — Players on deck. The top two House Democrats are mostly watching and waiting. But they will play a critical role once Boehner decides his next move. They could either bring Democratic votes on board a deal or be the loudest voices against a new Republican alternative. Hoyer will be interesting to watch; he has strongly opposed both the House and Senate plans as cutting too much in spending.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California — The numbers guy. McCarthy, the House whip, has the tricky job of assessing exactly where Republican members stand and getting the 217 votes it takes to pass a bill in the chamber. He is known for his outreach to and connection with many of the freshmen House members who align with the tea party.
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin — Member to watch. The vote of the House budget chairman and former vice presidential nominee is an important signal both within Republican ranks and to the public at large. Ryan has voted against some funding measures in the past, including the emergency aid for Superstorm Sandy recovery. But he was a “yes” on the last extension of the debt ceiling.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida — Another member to watch. A former committee chairwoman (Republican rules have term limits for committee chairs), Ros-Lehtinen knows House politics and procedure inside out. Depending on the issue, she has been described as a conservative or moderate, and occasionally as a libertarian.
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Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate
A Park Service police officer stands guard in front of the Lincoln Memorial during a partial shutdown of the federal government in November 1995. Many government services and agencies were closed at the end of 1995 and beginning of 1996 as President Bill Clinton battled a Republican-led Congress over spending levels.
An employee hangs a sign on the door of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington on November 14, 1995, marking the start of the government shutdown.
A tourist peers out a ferry window at the Statue of Liberty on November 14, 1995, as a small group of visitors wait on the dock to board the vessel. No passengers were allowed off the boat as both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were closed after federal workers were sent home.
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-New Mexico, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee holds up a chart showing the differences between Republican and Democratic budgets as Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, left, and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole stand by during a press conference on Capitol Hill.
A police officer walks through the empty Statuary Hall in the Capitol on November 15, 1995.
The national debt clock in New York is stopped during the government shutdown in November.
President Clinton speaks about the federal budget impasse from the Oval Office on November 16, 1995. The first part of the budget shutdown ended on November 19 when a temporary spending bill was enacted. But Congress failed to come to an agreement on the federal budget, leading to a second shutdown starting December 16.
UPS workers deliver letters to members of Congress on November 28, 1995. The letters were written and sent by members of the Coalition For Change, a nonpartisan organization devoted to balancing the budget.
A speaks to demonstrators at the Capitol Rotunda on December 7, 1995. Evangelical leaders from around the country held a prayer session to call on legislators to treat the poor justly during welfare reform and budget negotiations.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Livingston, right, holds a “closed” sign outside the National Gallery of Art in Washington on December 18, 1995.
A security guard informs people that the passport office is closed at the Federal Building in Los Angeles on December 18, 1995.
Rep. John Boehner dumps out coal, which he called a Christmas gift to President Clinton, during a news conference about the federal budget on December 21, 1995.
Karen Bishop chains herself to colleagues during a rally at the Federal Building in San Francisco on January 3, 1996. The workers claimed they were in servitude to the government as hundreds of thousands of federal employees were either furloughed or had to work without pay.
Food service employees at the Veterans Hospital in Miami line up to receive food rations on January 3, 1996. Many federal employees faced financial hardships during the shutdown.
Tourists line up outside the National Gallery of Art in Washington on January 5, 1996. It was one of the few government buildings open during the shutdown thanks to the assistance of private funds.
People trying to apply for visas at the U.S. consulate in Paris on January 5, 1996, are told that the building is closed because of the U.S. budget crisis.
Rep. Thomas Davis III, R-Virginia, attends a rally in Washington on January 5, 1996, urging the end of the government shutdown.
Tourists view Yosemite National Park in California after it re-opened on January 6, 1996. Early that morning, President Clinton signed Republican-crafted legislation to restore jobs and provide retroactive pay to government workers while he and Congress continued negotiating how to balance the federal budget.
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Photos: The last government shutdown
Now, the Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate will try to see if they can reconcile their two versions of the spending plan at the heart of the issue. So far, each has refused to budge.
House Republicans insist the spending plan for the new fiscal year include anti-Obamacare amendments. Senate Democrats are just as insistent that it doesn’t.
Obamacare, as President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare plan is known, isn’t directly tied to funding the government. But it’s so unpopular among a group of Republicans that they want it undercut, if not outright repealed.
“Healthcare law is the most insidious law known to man,” Republican Rep. Todd Rokita of Indiana said.
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the shutdown gives the United States a black eye.
“It is a dangerous message to the world,” he said. “We tell other nations that we believe that they have to have certain disciplines. And yet, we cannot ultimately keep our own budget open and the nation and its government functioning.”
Amid the finger-wagging and fulminating, the new health insurance went into effect on schedule Tuesday.
“The Affordable Care Act is moving forward. You can’t shut it down,” said a post on Barack Obama’s verified Twitter feed.
What’s next
About an hour after the shutdown began at 12:01 a.m. ET Tuesday, House members voted to once again tack on the anti-Obamacare amendments that the Senate has said is a deal-breaker. They also requested a conference with the Senate to work out their differences.
But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has already said he wouldn’t agree to such a meeting until the House presents a clean spending bill stripped of the amendments.
“We will not go to conference with a gun to our head,” Reid said late Monday night.
The Senate will convene at 9:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, where it will once again reject the House amendments. The House wants to delay the requirement that everyone gets health insurance.
This is how it’s gone for more than a week: The House sends a version of the bill with provisions the Senate finds objectionable; the Senate kicks it back. The House sends it again; the Senate kicks it back again.
While Congress could pass a temporary funding measure as they work out their differences, there are no signs of any discussion along those lines right now.
House Speaker John Boehner held a press conference overnight saying he hopes the Senate will agree to meet.
When asked if he had a message for the 800,000 furloughed employees — or if he has a plan to restore back pay to them — Boehner responded, “The House has voted to keep the government open, but we also want basic fairness for all Americans under Obamacare.”
He then walked away from the podium.
A blow to the economy
The shutdown won’t happen all at once. The federal government is the country’s largest employer.
Federal employees who are considered essential will continue working. Those deemed non-essential — more than 800,000 — will be furloughed, unsure when they’ll be able to work or get paid again. Most furloughed federal workers are supposed to be out of their offices within four hours of the start of business Tuesday.
The shutdown could cost the still-struggling U.S. economy about $1 billion a week in pay lost by furloughed federal workers. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
While many agencies have reserve funds and contingency plans that would give them some short-term leeway, the economic loss would snowball as the shutdown continued.
The total economic impact is likely to be at least 10 times greater than the simple calculation of lost wages of federal workers, said Brian Kessler, economist with Moody’s Analytics. His firm estimates that a three- to four-week shutdown would cost the economy about $55 billion.
Initial market reaction around the world was muted early Tuesday morning.
Lisa Buckley, who co-owns the Denver-based American Automation security firm, counts on government contracts for 60% of her business. She’s worried about how she’ll pay her employees if the shutdown drags on.
“It’s quite irresponsible how the government has been running the country,” Buckley said. “If I ran my business like Congress has been handling the budget, I’d lose my job.”
Troops will still get paid
Congress actually managed to come together to pass one bill — unanimously, at that.
The Senate approved a House-approved measure Monday to ensure members of the military would continue to get paid during the shutdown. Obama signed off on it.
“You and your families deserve better than the dysfunction we’re seeing in Congress,” the president said in a video message to troops and Defense Department employees early Tuesday morning.
But it’s uncertain how the shutdown will affect military veterans, including the 3.3 million who are disabled.
If the shutdown stretches into late October, the Veterans Affairs Department — meaning disability and pension checks could stop for elderly and ill veterans.
“That’s what they need to pay rent, to pay food,” said Tom Tarantino of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “It’s not their total income, but it is a significant part of it.”
Congressional paychecks also safe
Although much of the federal workforce will go without pay, checks will keep coming to the 533 current members of Congress.
Why? The 27th Amendment prevents any Congress from changing its own pay.
“That is disgraceful in my view,” said freshman Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii. “Basically the only people who get paid in a shutdown are members of Congress, and that is irresponsible.”
The combat veteran said she plans to send any pay she receives during the shutdown back to the Treasury.
Rep. John Fleming, R-Louisiana, said he hadn’t thought through what he would do with his paychecks, but said he would likely donate his pay during a shutdown to charity.
“Obviously we need to share the pain of the American people,” he said.
The president too will get paid. His salary — $400,000 — is considered mandatory spending.
10 ways the shutdown would affect you
Obamacare still focus
How long the shutdown lasts will depend on how soon the Republicans and Democrats can come to an understanding.
Democrats have pressured Boehner to give up a losing fight over Obamacare forced by tea party conservatives.
Noting that the 2010 Affordable Care Act has been upheld by the Supreme Court, they say it is settled law that voters endorsed last year by re-electing Obama over GOP candidate Mitt Romney, who campaigned on repealing it.
“They are fixated on embarrassing our president, the president of the United States,” Reid said.
Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida predicted that such a “clean” spending plan would pass easily with support from all Democrats and more moderate Republicans.
Some Republicans too expressed frustration Monday with the tactics of their congressional colleagues. Veteran GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona noted that any attempt to repeal Obamacare would fail because of Obama’s veto, which would require a two-thirds majority in the Senate to overcome.
“There’s not 67 votes in the United States Senate, therefore, ergo, we’re not going to repeal Obamacare,” McCain said. “OK? That’s it. We may do this for a day. We may do it for a week. We may do it for a month. It’s going to end up the same way. “
Public reaction
A game of chicken between Dems, GOP
According to a CNN/ORC poll, 68% of Americans think shutting down the government for even a few days is a bad idea, while 27% think it’s a good idea.
And it appears most Americans would blame congressional Republicans for a shutdown: Sixty-nine percent said they agreed with the statement that the party’s elected officials were acting like “spoiled children.”
Democrats, however, weren’t far behind: Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they too were acting like spoiled kids.
Another poll showed public support for Congress at record low levels — at 10%.
“Things like this can have such a big impact on people that aren’t in the limelight. You know, people that are out working hourly positions” said Quinn Agard, who works on Liberty Island, the home of the Statue of Liberty.
More than 21,000 national park employees will be furloughed. Thousands more — like cleanup crews and concession employees — will be left without pay.
“This whole island will be shut down. So that’s a ton of different positions that people wont be working and won’t be getting paid for,” Agard said.
The island draws up to 4 million visitors a year. And at $17 per adult ticket, it’s also a big money maker.
Victoria Duncan, a concession stand worker at Liberty Island, is worried about what she’ll do next.
“I’ll have to find another job if they’re not paying us while we’re laid off, or file for unemployment. But it’s still not going to be enough,” she said. “It’s hard. Even to think about it, is hard to think about.”
CNN Poll: GOP would bear the brunt of shutdown blame
Meet the man behind the government shutdown
CNN’s Holly Yan reported and wrote from Atlanta; Tom Cohen from Washington. CNN’s Lisa Desjardins, Poppy Harlow, Lateef Mungin, Dana Bash, Z. Byron Wolf, Chris Isidore, Ted Barrett, Deidre Walsh, Barbara Starr, Sophia Yan, Ed Payne and John Helton also contributed to this report.
Source Article from http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/01/politics/government-shutdown/