US government shutdown starts,Barack Obama hits out at ‘extremists’

“Congress has not fulfilled its responsibility. It has failed to pass a budget and,as a result,a shutdown has been imposed on much of our government down until Congress funds it again,” Barack Obama said in a video message to the armed services shortly after the shutdown came into effect.

“The threats to our national security have not changed,and we need you to be ready for any contingency. Ongoing military operations – like our efforts in Afghanistan – will continue. If you’re serving in harm’s way,we’re going to make sure you have what you need to succeed in your missions,” he said.

“Congress has passed,and I am signing into law,legislation to make sure you get your paychecks on time. And we’ll continue working to address any impact this shutdown has on you and your families,” Barack Obama said.

Agencies should now execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations,the Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell said her a guidance to the agencies directing them to execute their plans for an orderly shutdown of the Federal government.

“We urge Congress to act quickly to pass a Continuing Resolution to provide a short-term bridge that ensures sufficient time to pass a budget for the remainder of the fiscal year,and to restore the operation of critical public services and programs that will be impacted by a lapse in appropriations,” the guidance said.

Shutdown,the first in 18 years,means that national parks will close,most routine food inspections will be suspended,paperwork will slow at government offices and many federal employees will be furloughed.

Only emergency and essential items would be able to operate,as a result of which lakhs of government employees would not receive their salary for the duration of the government shutdown.

Senator Ben Cardin alleged that the Republicans have manufactured a shutdown crisis that will cost taxpayers even more money while inconveniencing,if not harming,individuals,families and businesses across the country.

Earlier,Barack Obama said as a result of the government shut down,office buildings would be closed.

“Paychecks would be delayed. Vital services that seniors and veterans,women and children,businesses and our economy depend on would be hamstrung,” he said.

“Business owners would see delays in raising capital,seeking infrastructure permits,or rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy. Veterans who’ve sacrificed for their country will find their support centers unstaffed,” he said.

“As a result of the shutdown,tourists will find every one of America’s national parks and monuments,from Yosemite to the Smithsonian to the Statue of Liberty,immediately closed. And of course,the communities and small businesses that rely on these national treasures for their livelihoods will be out of customers and out of luck,” he added.

Noting that more than two million civilian workers and 1.4 million active-duty military serve in all 50 states and all around the world,Barack Obama said because of government shutdown,hundreds of thousands of these dedicated public servants who stay on the job will do so without pay – and several hundred thousand more will be immediately and indefinitely furloughed without pay.

“A shutdown will have a very real economic impact on real people,right away. Past shutdowns have disrupted the economy significantly. This one would,too. It would throw a wrench into the gears of our economy at a time when those gears have gained some traction,” Obama said.

Barack Obama: Republicans appeasing ‘extremists’ on shutdown

(AFP) US President Barack Obama has accused Republicans of pandering to the “extreme right wing” of their party and holding Americans hostage in a budget dispute threatening to shutter the government.

Just over six hours before federal services grind to a halt and hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed,Obama yesterday said time was running out for a last-minute compromise.

Republicans in the House of Representatives are seeking to force Obama to delay or defund his signature health insurance reform law in return for funding government operations.

They are using a similar tactic as Obama asks Congress to raise the USD 16.7 trillion US debt ceiling. If no deal is reached,the United States may begin defaulting on its debts by the middle of October.

“One faction of one party in one house of Congress in one branch of government doesn’t get to shut down the entire government just to refight the results of an election,” Obama said.

“Congress needs to keep our government open,needs to pay our bills on time,and never,ever threaten the full faith and credit of the United States of America.

In a bid to nudge Congress to an agreement,the president made separate phone calls Monday to congressional leaders,including Republican House Speaker John Boehner,to urge them to pass a funding bill “that doesn’t include any extraneous ideological riders,” according to the White House.

But the differences on Capitol Hill were stark,with the House late Monday voting for a third time in recent days to attach an anti-Obamacare provision to a stopgap budget measure.

The Senate rejected the previous two and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the latest change would be dead in the water as well.

“Time is running out,” Obama said.

“My hope and expectation is that in the 11th hour once again,that Congress will choose to do the right thing and that the House of Representatives in particular will choose the right thing.

“Unfortunately,right now,House Republicans continue to tie funding of the government to ideological demands like limiting a woman’s access to contraception or delaying the Affordable Care Act,all to save face after making some impossible promises to the extreme right wing of their party.”

Obama also warned that the imminent shutdown would have real and dramatic economic consequences for thousands of Americans and said it was not fair that people who had dug out of the worst recession in decades were again facing economic uncertainty.