US government shutdown on Sunday

[wing2000]

It appears the House may have a solution....for now: (reporting from 1 hour ago)

In a 335-91 vote, the House passed a continuing resolution that would fund the government for 45 days. Applause and cheers broke out on the House floor after the vote. One Democrat and 90 Republicans voted against the bill.
The short-term funding bill includes disaster relief funds, an extension of a federal flood insurance program and FAA reauthorization — but no Ukraine aid. The Senate must pass the bill before 12:01 a.m. Sunday to avert a government shutdown.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/30/government-shutdown-updates/

 

[wing2000]

...it appears McCarthy pulled the social programs cuts to get House Democrats on board (but not Ukraine funding):

"House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) hailed the short-term funding bill the House passed as entirely different from one Republicans had proposed Friday, which had included steep cuts to social programs.
“We’re on the path to avoiding an extreme MAGA Republican shutdown,” Jeffries said. “It was a victory for the American people and a complete and total surrender by right-wing extremists who throughout the year have tried to hijack the Congress.”

 

[Richard T]

So, how long are you willing/able to work without pay like the essential workers and military will be doing? They will get back pay but that takes a lot of time and does not help in the here and now.

The non-essential workers are just furloughed without pay as I seem to recall from our last 35 day shut down.

ETA: they made a law in 2019 to ensure even the furloughed get paid eventually after a shutdown.

"Furloughed federal employees or those who are required to work during a lapse in appropriations are guaranteed backpay thanks to the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act. The law ensures they will be made whole once funding resumes." Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/09/27/federal-workers-government-shutdown-guide/

 

[Nithavela]

Extending the countdown until total disaster by 1.5 months is not really impressive.

 

[PsaltiChrysostom]

So what do they do other than twiddle their thumbs and pick their nose?
What do war mongers do when the are not out seeking death, carnage & mass destruction?

Naval Medical Center Portsmouth is the Navy's first and oldest continuously operating hospital. It's staff of 4,300 personnel are dedicated to keeping more than 420,000 active duty members, family members and retirees in Hampton Roads healthy.

Langley AFB likes to shoot down Chinese "weather balloons" An F-22 Raptor fighter from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, fired one AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon.

SEAL teams 2,4 and 6 are also here. Maybe you have heard of them?

Seriously, what is with the attitude? Although I'm a civilian and never served, I have family and friends who served honorably in peacetime and war. I work with the Veterans Hospitals helping clinicians work and heal their patients. My best friend from seminary is an Orthodox priest and Navy chaplain and about to head to Okinawa for the next three years. My son hopes to join the Marines once he is done with high school.

 

[wing2000]

Extending the countdown until total disaster by 1.5 months is not really impressive.

I havn't been impressed with the quality of U.S. Congressional governance for some time....

 

[Diamond7]

SEAL teams 2,4 and 6 are also here. Maybe you have heard of them?

My son wanted to be a Navy Seal, even he was in the Navy but he did not qualify. I remember seeing a troop of Green Beret once. They were very small. I would imagine the Seals are small also to keep up with the rigorous training.

It's staff of 4,300 personnel are dedicated to keeping more than 420,000 active duty members, family members and retirees in Hampton Roads healthy.

I thought about doing medical training. I just can not accept what people do to each other in war. There was a little girl in Vietnam that got hit with napalm. (Phan Thi Kim Phuc) That photo of that event did more to end the war than anything else. Of course the Gov will give you a plush job for the rest of your life after you serve in a war zone. It has always been that way. Some people do not have a choice. They only way they can get an education and get ahead in life is to serve in the Military. My brother served in the civil service to help pay for his education.

 

[Diamond7]

I havn't been impressed with the quality of U.S. Congressional governance for some time....

Does that mean there was a time when you were impressed with them?

 

[FireDragon76]

Biden is making sure a lot of the money (we don't have) will still be funneled into Ukraine, shut down or no shut down.

Ukraine isn't getting that much cash assistance from the US. The majority of the assistance is made up of old weapons systems or artillery shells.

 

[USincognito]

Extending the countdown until total disaster by 1.5 months is not really impressive.

Given how dysfunctional the House majority is, I'm very impressed by this agreement.

 

[Fantine]

My nephew, a Navy Reservist and Seabee, was called to Afghanistan to rebuild bombed and damaged roads and bridges.

 

[Diamond7]

Seriously, what is with the attitude?

Like I said, I was in training and they were telling me about putting arms and legs in body bags. My question is, why are people doing this sort of harm to each other. I did not see any reason or purpose for it. Some people just do not have what it takes to do that sort of stuff.

We did take in a foreign exchange student from China one year. Turns out his father was delivering weapons of mass destruction to North Vietnam. So I was in training to clean up his mess and put bodies in body bags. We took his son in and treated him like our own son for the 9 months he was here. My wife worked with him to improve his english so he could get into a decent university. He is now an electronic engineer. I am sure his father just laughs at us.

He did help my son with his math. my son is a computer engineer now.

What good did all that death and carnage do for us in Vietnam?
What purpose was served by dropping napalm on women and children?

 

[PsaltiChrysostom]

My son wanted to be a Navy Seal, even he was in the Navy but he did not qualify. I remember seeing a troop of Green Beret once. They were very small. I would imagine the Seals are small also to keep up with the rigorous training.

I thought about doing medical training. I just can not accept what people do to each other in war. There was a little girl in Vietnam that got hit with napalm. (Phan Thi Kim Phuc) That photo of that event did more to end the war than anything else. Of course the Gov will give you a plush job for the rest of your life after you serve in a war zone. It has always been that way. Some people do not have a choice. They only way they can get an education and get ahead in life is to serve in the Military. My brother served in the civil service to help pay for his education.

Yes military careers do lead to a pension, but they are still working another job. I work in a VA hospital, so I see plenty of plenty of vets with war wounds, especially those who served in Desert Storm and OEF and OIF. I chat daily with one guy who has no legs from an IED. I am also horrified by those wounded in war, and not only physically but mentally. My youngest son is going to be joining the Marines, and I am both proud and scared beyond all measure.

 

[Diamond7]

I chat daily with one guy who has no legs from an IED.

I had a friend who lost a leg from the knee down from a claymore mine in Vietnam. Sounds like the injuries now are more severe. We have a niece that is a nurse and works for the veterans hospital. She enjoys all the benefits she gets. She had some complications with her first birth and they paid for all of that.

My point was that our war monger government has failed to avoid these conflicts. But they do provide health care and they do try to compensate people. I am told that they are putting money into the development of prosthetics. I wanted my son to go into the development of medical devises but he just wants to be a computer engineer and specialize in some sort of a PI program. ( "Programmable Interface") Pfizer is one of their customers and they (his team) are working on a whole new network to connect all of their factories.

 

[KCfromNC]

Biden is making sure a lot of the money (we don't have) will still be funneled into Ukraine, shut down or no shut down.

Something Russian propaganda opposes, for obvious reasons.

 

[wing2000]

Does that mean there was a time when you were impressed with them?

I would not use the word impressed, but in the 1990's, the Congress and President worked together to manage a balance budget. Doing so today will require BOTH cutting programs and raising taxes. When Congress has the courage to make the tough choices, and stop lying to the American people that they can have government provided benefits while not paying for it fully every year, I'll be impressed.

 

[Hank77]

Given how dysfunctional the House majority is, I'm very impressed by this agreement.

...
McCarthy abandoned party hardliners' insistence that any bill pass the House with only Republican votes, a change that could cause one of his far-right members to try to oust him from his leadership role.

The House voted 335-91 to fund the government through Nov. 17, with more Democrats than Republicans supporting it.
...
McCarthy dismissed concerns that hardline Republicans could try to oust him as leader.

"I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try," McCarthy told reporters. "And you know what? If I have to risk my job for standing up for the American public, I will do that."

Congress averts government shutdown with stopgap-funding bill

The standoff comes just months after Congress brought the government to the brink of default. The drama has raised worries on Wall Street, where the Moody's ratings agency has warned it could damage U.S. creditworthiness.

www.reuters.com

With a statement like that McCarthy is daring them to try to oust him now. If I remember correctly it was Gaetz that threatened to oust him.

 

[wing2000]

With a statement like that McCarthy is daring them to try to oust him now. If I remember correctly it was Gaetz that threatened to oust him.

Yes, Gaetz was on the Sunday news shows declaring he will start the process today.

 

[Larniavc]

The U.S. government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 1 if lawmakers don't pass a continuing resolution or a federal budget by Sept. 30.

The shutdown would be the fourth in a decade.

The US debt to GDP ratio is similar to WWII and is about 120% of GDP.

US government shutdown: What to expect

Time is running out. If Congress does not reach an agreement before midnight on Saturday, the US government will shut down.

www.euronews.com

Government shutdown updates: Will national parks close? When was the last shutdown?

Hard-right Republicans who represent a sliver of the U.S. are set to send the entire country into a federal government shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1.

www.usatoday.com

Why does this keep happening?

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Why does this keep happening?

Because the legal framework allows for it to be used as political bargaining chip and to be held hostage.

If you look at how some other countries handle it, the opportunity just isn't there for it to happen.

The Brits have never shut down their government the way Americans always do—and there are 4 key reasons why

By some accounts, this congressional shutdown would be the 22nd since 1976.

fortune.com