U.S. government shutdown breaks record, with no end in sight

[rooster59]

U.S. government shutdown breaks record, with no end in sight

By David Brunnstrom and David Morgan

 

The U.S. Capitol is seen beyond a chain fence during the partial government shutdown in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A partial U.S. government shutdown over President Donald Trump's demand for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border entered its 22nd day on Saturday, making it the longest shuttering of federal agencies in U.S. history, with no end in sight.

 

Trump, holed up in the White House with Congress adjourned for the weekend, warned of a much lengthier impasse and blamed the Democrats.

 

"We will be out for a long time unless the Democrats come back from their 'vacations' and get back to work," he tweeted.

 

Democrats say Trump shut the government in a "temper tantrum" by refusing to sign bipartisan funding legislation last year that did not include money for his wall.

 

The closure, which began on Dec. 22, broke a decades-old record by a 1995-1996 shutdown under former President Bill Clinton that lasted 21 days.

 

Federal workers affected missed their first paychecks on Friday, heightening concerns about mounting financial pressures on employees, including air traffic controllers and airport security officials who continue to work without pay.

 

Roughly 800,000 federal workers did not receive paychecks that would have gone out on Friday. Some have resorted to selling their possessions or posting appeals on online fundraising sites to help pay their bills.

 

Miami International Airport said it will close one of its terminals early over the next several days due to a possible shortage of security screeners, who have been calling in sick at twice the normal rate.

 

A union that represents thousands of air traffic controllers sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday, saying it had violated federal wage law by failing to pay workers. It is at least the third lawsuit filed by unions on behalf of unpaid workers.

 

The head of the U.S. Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting Trump, has warned employees that financial stress can lead to depression and anxiety. "Keep an eye out for warning signs of trouble," Director R.D. "Tex" Alles wrote in a memo seen by Reuters.

 

The Transportation Security Administration, responsible for airport security screening, said its rate of unscheduled absences rose to 5.6 percent on Saturday from 3.3 percent a year ago but that security standards have not been compromised.

 

The Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees air traffic controllers, said on Saturday it had seen no unusual rates of sick leave among its air traffic controllers and no disruptions to air traffic control operations.

 

To support its workforce, TSA said it was processing pay for employees who worked on the first day of the shutdown and announced $500 bonuses for uniformed screening officers.

 

Trump is considering a possible national emergency declaration that would end the shutdown and allow him to obtain his wall funding by circumventing Congress. But on Friday, he said he would not take such a step "right now".

 

"Democrats should come back to Washington and work to end the Shutdown, while at the same time ending the horrible humanitarian crisis at our Southern Border. I am in the White House waiting for you!" he tweeted.

 

Trump also urged his 57.2 million Twitter followers to contact Democratic lawmakers and "Tell them to get it done!"

 

Democrats, who call a wall an ineffective, outdated answer to a complex problem, have passed several bills in the House of Representatives to reopen the government without funding for Trump's barrier. But the legislation has been ignored by the Republican-controlled Senate.

 

Trump originally pledged Mexico would pay for the wall, which he says is needed to stem the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs. But Mexico has refused.

 

U.S. government departments including the Treasury, Energy, Commerce and State departments, shut down when funding lapsed on Dec. 22. Funding for other portions of the government, including the Department of Defense and Congress, was approved, allowing them to continue regular operations.

 

Trump has repeatedly described the situation at the Mexico border as a "humanitarian crisis" as speculation has increased this week that he would circumvent Congress to begin building his signature wall - a move that would be sure to draw a court challenge from Democrats who say the barrier would be barbaric and ineffective.

 

Instead, the president urged lawmakers to provide him the $5.7 billion he is seeking for border security.

 

A national emergency would allow Trump to divert money from other projects to pay for the wall, which was a central promise of his 2016 campaign. That, in turn, could prompt him to sign bills that restore funding to agencies that have been affected by the shutdown.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-13

[Tug]

Donald is more afaraid of Rus Limbaugh and Fox News than the bad press of putting 800,000 people out of work just pathetic utterly pathetic 

[neeray]

^{In my opinion, should Trump decide to use POTUS powers to build HIS wall, by declaring a national emergency, it is a pretty strong indicator of his desire to be an autocratic leader.}

[sirineou]

trump is breaking all short of records as a president, sadly no of them is good.

[GettingBye]

Why do all the news articles cry about the poor Federsl workers not getting paid and completely omit the fact they will receive all back wages for these days they have had holiday?

 

And what kind of incompetent federal workers do we have that do not even have a few weeks of savings to live on in an emergency.

 

This shut down would not even be taking place except for the citizens of other countries holding the belief that the US Laws do not apply to them and so many politicians allowing it to reach a humanitarian crisis over the past 30 years. 

[GettingBye]

1 hour ago, Tug said:

Donald is more afaraid of Rus Limbaugh and Fox News than the bad press of putting 800,000 people out of work just pathetic utterly pathetic 

 

"Out of work"?

 

They are on paid holiday.

 

The only people suffering by the Dems stonewalling efforts are the American citizens.

[Thainesss]

3 minutes ago, GettingBye said:

Why do all the news articles cry about the poor Federsl workers not getting paid and completely omit the fact they will receive all back wages for these days they have had holiday?

 

Narrative for the politicians, and headlines for the media. 

 

If you're a federal worker you know "government shutdowns" are a part of the package. Id be like joining the reserve military as a cook or mechanic and then getting pissed off at the government for sending you to a war zone. 

 

Fact of the matter is that from day one this has been a Democrat shutdown. Even when the GOP held a "majority" in the house - 60 votes are needed in the senate to pass. The GOP never held 60 seats in the senate while trump has been president, so since day one they needed democrat votes to pass budgets, and the dems have been denying and obstructing since day one.

 

It really shows how 2-faced & power hungry the democrat party is. 

[neeray]

4 minutes ago, GettingBye said:

Why do all the news articles cry about the poor Federsl workers not getting paid and completely omit the fact they will receive all back wages for these days they have had holiday?

 

And what kind of incompetent federal workers do we have that do not even have a few weeks of savings to live on in an emergency.

It is a Utopian thought you have that every government employee should possess a rainy day fund in order to accommodate prolonged periods without regular, incoming pay. We live in an era when many people are s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d out. Mortgage/rent payments, home utilities, car/fuel, school expenses, food for the family.

 

Sure, they will all get their back pay eventually. Problem is, they are at the mercy of a POTUS who  declared that he would be "proud to own a shut down". Further, he has indicated that he is prepared to carry it on for months or years until he gets HIS WALL money.

 

These are proud Americans who are suffering because of one man and his election promise to build a wall. They would rather be working than on "holiday".

 

[Thainesss]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Democrats, who call a wall an ineffective, outdated answer to a complex problem

 

Chuck and Nancy BOTH have voted for walls & border security during previous administrations, hundreds and hundreds of miles worth, and billions of dollars worth. 

 

Dems apparently think the electorate is too stupid to know this I guess.

[Thainesss]

4 minutes ago, neeray said:

It is a Utopian thought you have that every government employee should possess a rainy day fund in order to accommodate prolonged periods without regular, incoming pay. We live in an era when many people are s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d out. Mortgage/rent payments, home utilities, car/fuel, school expenses, food for the family.

 

Sure, they will all get their back pay eventually. Problem is, they are at the mercy of a POTUS who  declared that he would be "proud to own a shut down". Further, he has indicated that he is prepared to carry it on for months or years until he gets HIS WALL money.

 

These are proud Americans who are suffering because of one man and his election promise to build a wall. They would rather be working than on "holiday".

 

There are 2 parties at play here, and the democrats refuse to give more than one us dollar (pelosi's own words) for extra border security, so to place the blame on Trump is partisan hackery using the same furlowed workers as fodder. You cant grandstand about federal workers starving while finger pointing at trump when the dems could open the government at any time if they were serious about border security. 

 

It takes 2 to tango. 

[GettingBye]

12 minutes ago, neeray said:

It is a Utopian thought you have that every government employee should possess a rainy day fund in order to accommodate prolonged periods without regular, incoming pay. We live in an era when many people are s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d out. Mortgage/rent payments, home utilities, car/fuel, school expenses, food for the family.

 

Sure, they will all get their back pay eventually. Problem is, they are at the mercy of a POTUS who  declared that he would be "proud to own a shut down". Further, he has indicated that he is prepared to carry it on for months or years until he gets HIS WALL money.

 

These are proud Americans who are suffering because of one man and his election promise to build a wall. They would rather be working than on "holiday".

 

 

Oh Please.

 

TSA employees are choosing not to return to work and report for duty as they are scheduled.

 

All federal employees make a living wage and receive outstanding benefits not available to many in the private sector. If those federal workers were of Asian descent like many McDonalds and Wal-Mart employees or African like many airport support staff, they could not only live well on those Federal wages but send ample monies home to their relatives. 

 

Government shutdowns happen. Plan for it just like construction workers who live in a boom / bust economy or fisherman or many other segments of society who do not have the protections of collective bargaining agreements. I have several buddies who work for the National Park Service and they are laughing about all this extra paid holiday.

Edited January 13, 2019 by GettingBye

[EVENKEEL]

49 minutes ago, sirineou said:

trump is breaking all short of records as a president, sadly no of them is good.

He's trying to fulfill the duties of POTUS, but the wacky dems Nancy and chuck are kicking wildly and preventing this.

[Skallywag]

I never saw a government employee actually working in the 45 years I worked in the USA - so shutting them down is all right with me - 555.  They have State, County, and City governments that should be able "govern" their citizens in all ways other than national defense and federal courts.  

[Credo]

59 minutes ago, GettingBye said:

Why do all the news articles cry about the poor Federsl workers not getting paid and completely omit the fact they will receive all back wages for these days they have had holiday?

 

And what kind of incompetent federal workers do we have that do not even have a few weeks of savings to live on in an emergency.

 

This shut down would not even be taking place except for the citizens of other countries holding the belief that the US Laws do not apply to them and so many politicians allowing it to reach a humanitarian crisis over the past 30 years. 

Your remarks are callous.   There have been plenty of reports of the difficulty for many, many gov't workers who didn't get paid.   They have mortgages, car payments and everyday expenses.   Many people live from paycheck to paycheck.   

 

I was reading about people who have called the bank for an extension on their mortgage.   No dice; pay or we report you to the credit bureau.  Further non-payment and the bank will start foreclosure.  

 

Another who just had a baby, wife can't work and he can't pay some of the medical bills, as well as the regular bills.

 

A huge number of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.   Especially those with big ticket items like a house.

 

[GettingBye]

16 minutes ago, Credo said:

Your remarks are callous.   There have been plenty of reports of the difficulty for many, many gov't workers who didn't get paid.   They have mortgages, car payments and everyday expenses.   Many people live from paycheck to paycheck.   

 

I was reading about people who have called the bank for an extension on their mortgage.   No dice; pay or we report you to the credit bureau.  Further non-payment and the bank will start foreclosure.  

 

Another who just had a baby, wife can't work and he can't pay some of the medical bills, as well as the regular bills.

 

A huge number of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.   Especially those with big ticket items like a house.

 

 

Then they were irresponsible to purchase a home and sign a mortgage agreement they were unqualified to afford.

 

Life is callous sometimes to those who don’t make responsible decisions but please don’t shoot the messenger.

 

I had nothing to do with their decisions.

[GettingBye]

edit:

An extension on their mortgage? They have not had a paycheck for 2 weeks. There is not one mortgage that would be considered Past Due at this time. Requesting an extension on their mortgage now is just further proof oft poor fiscal decisions.

 

Risk foreclosure?

You are far too intelligent to believe this drama.

 

You certainly know how long a foreclosure takes to initiate. Their mortgage is not even past due yet.

Bankers do not like to foreclose and sit on inventory. Banks know these federal workers are going to receive back wages.

 

It does nothing for your argument when you create these false narratives that you are too logical to believe.

Edited January 13, 2019 by GettingBye

[Tug]

There are some sad people out there that being said the USA is a democracy not a dictatorship Donald needs to learn to work with others or step down he has no right to hold 800,000 people hostage in danger national security and act like a spoiled child when it doesent go his way

[GettingBye]

14 minutes ago, Tug said:

There are some sad people out there that being said the USA is a democracy not a dictatorship Donald needs to learn to work with others or step down he has no right to hold 800,000 people hostage in danger national security and act like a spoiled child when it doesent go his way

Tug, we both know the entire history of the US has been the result of compromise, this has been true since the Articles of the Confederation, if not earlier.

 

Pelosi's quip about $1 is very clear evidence that the Dems are not any less the spoiled children than Trump when it comes to working with others.

[Thainesss]

39 minutes ago, Tug said:

Donald needs to learn to work with others or step down he has no right to hold 800,000 people hostage in danger national security and act like a spoiled child when it doesent go his way

 

The entire show is being held up by approximately 7 democrat votes in the Senate. Republicans hold the majority of seats but 60 votes are required to pass budget. 

 

7 democrat votes are the owners of this shutdown. 

 

But you keep on thinking its Trump holding 800,000 people hostage. 

[attrayant]

2 hours ago, Thainesss said:

the democrats refuse to give more than one us dollar (pelosi's own words) for extra border security

 

You're lying.  Perhaps when you say something like "Pelosi's own words", you should find them online and link to them like this:

 

[Pelosi] was asked whether there’s any scenario under which Democrats would accept “even a dollar” for new construction of Trump’s border wall.  “A dollar? A dollar? Yeah, one dollar,” Pelosi told a group of reporters just off of the House floor. She later seemed to rescind even that offer. “We’re not doing a wall. Does anybody have any doubt about that? We are not doing a wall. So that’s that,” she said.

 

Shes's talking about A WALL.  Not "extra border security", as you claim.

 

Your lie #2: Democrats don't want more border security.  The reality:  If they don't want a wall, what are Democrats' border security solutions?

 

Democrats have rejected President Donald Trump's border wall as ineffective, expensive and immoral. So what are their solutions to border security? Among them: Better technology. Increased hiring for ports of entry. Improved infrastructure, such as fencing.  Democrats also unveiled legislation last year to expand refugee processing in Central American countries and to disrupt drug cartels.

 

A wall is a stupid, massive, wasteful project that will be easy to bypass and end up being even more expensive in its upkeep.

 

Also, if you could stop lying so much, that'd be great.

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2019 by attrayant

[attrayant]

18 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

 

The entire show is being held up by approximately 7 democrat votes in the Senate.

 

Who were elected in an historic landslide by the people.  Those 7 democrats are doing the job they were elected to do: providing a check on a dictatorial Trump.

 

18 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

7 democrat votes are the owners of this shutdown. 

 

 

Trump himself disagrees with you.  He is proud to own the shutdown (his own words).  It's his baby.

[Scott]

Troll post removed.   The topic isn't about Obama.  

 

Continued nonsensical bickering will result in suspensions.  

 

[attrayant]

2 minutes ago, GettingBye said:

[Link to Obama's fence remarks omitted]

 

Hi.  The current debate is about a wall.  Do you know what that is?  It's A WALL.  Not a fence, a WALL.  A wall is different from a fence.  They're not the same.  I could provide pictures if that'd help.

 

 

Perhaps you could see how there might be a tiny cost difference between the two.

[Thainesss]

10 minutes ago, attrayant said:

Who were elected in an historic landslide by the people.

 

See, now you're lying. Historic? Lie. 

 

11 minutes ago, attrayant said:

Trump himself disagrees with you.  He is proud to own the shutdown (his own words).  It's his baby.

 

And your seven dems have taken that bait and ran with it. Not because of the morality of the project, but because never trump aka "politics". Its like you openly admit that it has nothing to do with the wall or border security but politics. 

[attrayant]

6 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

You should stop calling me a liar. Im not lying you literally quoted pelosi stating one freakin dollar. 

 

FOR A WALL.  You said for "border security".  If you don't see the difference, and you claim not to be telling a falsehood, then the other option is too insulting to mention, so I won't.

 

Democrats are offering compromises that include border security.  They will not fund a multi-billion dollar wall.  

 

6 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

So will we be tearing down the existing walls then? 

 

 

That's not my decision to make.  You should write your elected representative and suggest it.  Good luck with that.

[attrayant]

2 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

See, now you're lying. Historic? Lie. 

 

 

Here you go:

 

 

Consider yourself better informed.  If you can find any midterm election with better democrat gains in the past four decades, I'll retract my claim.  Ball's in your court.

 

 

[attrayant]

5 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

[Democrats] wont fund a multi billion dollar wall (like they have in the past)

 

Cite your claim that democrats have funded a multi-billion dollar wall in the past.

[kannot]

sack the lot of em then they really  will have something to whinge  about

[attrayant]

4 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

 

You are REALLY trying to hammer on the semantics of a wall vs a fence. 

 

I'm guessing that means you won't cite anything.

 

It's not just a semantic difference.  It sounds like you don't know what the word "semantic" means.  It's calling the same thing by different names, such as describing a child's toy block as a wooden cube, learning aid, toy or block or alphabet block.  Some might refer to a dandelion as a flower, while others call it a weed.  Two different words for what is basically the same thing.  A wall and a fence are not the same, any more than a howitzer and a b-b gun are the same thing.  There is a real, material difference.

 

It's an actual, physical difference, a cost difference, a functional difference, a strength difference.  There are more differences between a wall and a fence than there are similarities.

 

4 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

How is 700 miles of "fence" a moral physical barrier

 

I didn't say it is.

 

4 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

 but a sturdy wall not?

 

I didn't say it's not.

 

4 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

But yet you openly carry water for Democrats that voted for the secure fence act?

 

I did?  Where?  Yes, I'm calling for a cite again.

 

4 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

So cheap-ass billion dollar fencing is a-ok

 

Nope.  I didn't say that either.

 

4 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

PS you forgot this bit

 

 

I ignored it because it's off topic.

[utalkin2me]

Who doesn't fall on hard times? I believe there is insurance for situations like this for people who are that worried about it. It isn't like govt shutdowns are unheard of. They actually happen fairly regularly. Honestly, if we are going to complain about working conditions for sects of employees, I think the govt variety are coming out way ahead. Hope it is solved for them asap though. The ones who voted for Trump get no sympathy from me though, I will throw the ones who didn't some serious sympathy though. He is the problem. Period.