Government Shutdown Looming: What Does it Mean to You?

[AsahinaKimi]

Stalemate Over Funding Could End up in a Repeat of 1995 Crisis that Set Back GOP
By HUMA KHAN
Feb. 21, 2011

With Democrats and Republicans at a stalemate over how to fund the government, there is a real threat that government agencies could be shut down for the first time in 15 years. The deadline is just two weeks away, and could affect countless thousands of Americans.

The last time the federal government closed its doors was in 1995, when then-President Bill Clinton and the Republican-majority Congress failed to come to a compromise on the budget -- twice.

"Shutdown: A Passport to Confusion," screamed headlines at the time. "Tourists, Hunters and Shopkeepers Feel the Impact."

A shutdown can be, depending on whose exempted or not, pretty significant to all of our lives, absolutely," said Howard Gleckman, a resident fellow at the Urban Institute. "People don't think about how much it is that the government does for them. There would be no planes if it weren't for TSA and air traffic controllers. And as far as Social Security, somebody actually has to run computers to make sure checks run."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/government-shutdown-looms-amid-spending-debate-obama-republicans/story?id=12952627

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My Veteran friend is worried about not getting his disability payments.. I hope they fix this before March 4th.

[rfranklin]

1. Once again, it should be made clear who is responsible...

REPUBLICANS!

[Raven]

2. I bet they'll keep the IRS open. n/t

[liberal N proud]

7. And Homeland Security Theater

[HereSince1628]

3. It's unclear, it could prevent VA from following my heart disease and

diabetes.

Zablocki VAMC regularly turns away emergency patients because its beds are full. I'm not sure anything would be much different on the emergency medical front. But the clinics could shut down, just in Milwaukee that could prevent many thousands of medical apppointments and out-patient treatments/therapies from occurring.

[sofa king]

6. I think you'll be okay.

It looks like VA services were shunted under the aegis of the USDA and Homeland Security, so in a shutdown it actually gets to focus on providing services without worrying about spending.

See Section III of this law:

http://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/legal/pahpa/Pages/default.aspx

That same section gives the President the authority to provide health care on a national level, on his own, for the duration of the never-ending state of emergency created for us by the opposition.

So you need not worry about this actually happening.

[Dennis Donovan]

4. I remember the '95 shutdown...

My clients (I'm in EMR/EHR IT) weren't getting their Medicare reimbursments and, for some of the smaller medical practices, it was a critical hardship.

Also, my Mother, who relied on her Medicare to pay for her health needs, had to put off seeing the doctor because of it.

This time around, I have a brother on SSDI and, to have an interruption in his benefits, means not being able to pay his rent.

There's literaly hundreds of thousands of people just like him that face the same hardships.

That said, I PRAY the Senate and the President do NOT capitulate on this! I'm sick and tired of petulant Repugs holding the weakest of our citizens hostage!!!:grr:

[sofa king]

5. If you shut it down, the government will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

This is not 1995. The Republican Congress of the 00s slid bill after bill to President Bush, giving the Executive Branch incredible powers in the event of a terrorist "threat," which, thanks to Bush, is permanent and ongoing. And it's not too damned clear that the President has to relinquish those powers, once he assumes them.

Once the knuckle-draggers realize what they're about to do, they will give away EVERYTHING to prevent it. The closer we can lead them to that brink, the more concessions we'll get.

So relax, and watch President Obama run yet another ring around the Republicans in the House.

[Statistical]

14. Not without $$$$.

The Treausry is prohibited by law to borrowing more than the stuatory cap (debt ceiling).

If it was simply an issue of there not being a budget I would agree but without raising the debt ceiling the Treasury will be forced to stop payments to agencies and third parties until cap is raised.

I doubt the Republicans will blink. It doesn't really matter how much power the executive branch has if they don't have funding.

[sofa king]

15. Which is where the fun part comes in.

Homeland Security and FEMA can set wage rates, form labor brigades, take over the distribution of all goods and services, administer health care, police, and emergency response systems, and use the National Guard to enforce and protect it.

And, of course, the "threat" lasts as long as the President deems there to be one, not when Congress decides to cough up some money.

In other words, its socialism in a bottle, waiting to be uncorked by the unwitting Republicans. Not the warm fuzzy Scandiavian socialism I want, but the scary Stalin kind.

You can't bully the President anymore. The Republican Congress made sure of that. What they didn't count on was the wrong guy winning an election with support so overwhelming that it was impossible to steal it. Again.

[LiberalEsto]

8. My husband will lose his vacation days

He works for a federal contractor, and if the federal government is shut down, the contractor's policy is to make them use their vacation days for the days they aren't working.
It may not sound like a big deal, but he routinely works 9- to 12-hour days and weekends without additional pay. Those vacation days are desperately needed, because he's exhausted.

[Joe Bacon]

9. Folks, mark March 9th on your calendars

Because that's the first day after the CR expires that Social Security checks won't go out. You'll hear holy hell break loose!

[bluedave]

10. If a shutdown wakes

the stupid people in this country then I'm all for it,and I SURVIVE on S.S.--being a poor old geezer!

[NEOhiodemocrat]

11. Well my husbands SS will be held up I guess

But what really worries me is his Mother who relies entirely on SS and her Medicare for weekly treatments at her oncologist. And now she can look forward to less heating assistance next winter, nothing like going after the easy mark.

[Evasporque]

12. Tax refunds delayed...?

mine is set to come march 1...

[YellowRubberDuckie]

13. It means the Republicans are cutting off their nose in spite of their face....

Remember why Clinton got reelected, besides being Big Dawg and awesome, the republicans gained control of the legislative branch and shut it down. Then Clinton balanced the budget, got reelected, got his winky wet, and we had a surplus of gargantuan proportions. Then he was done, GW stole an election, and sent the country down the crapper. This is a cycle we are doomed to repeat, actually...
Duckie

[bluestate10]

16. It will not have an impact on me unless it lasts for up to a month.

While I value the federal government and it's functions, I am largely off the grid and only interact when I fly. I have no immediate travel planned. I travel on local or state highways that are in good repair, thanks to our governor.

[RedCloud]

17. It means I cannot fly in to take care of Momma and Poppa Red Cloud's estate.

I will get stuck.