The US Government on Sunday appeared to be heading for a shutdown as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives defiantly passed a temporary spending bill without any allocation for “Obamacare” and the Democrat-controlled Senate threatened to reject it outright.
In the absence of a last-minute deal within the next 24 hours, chances of which looked bleak as of Sunday, the federal government could face a partial closure of operations beginning right on Tuesday — October 1, which marks the start of the new American fiscal year.
Upping their ante against President Obama’s healthcare reform plan, which the Republicans have been opposing resolutely right from the start, the House early Sunday morning voted 231-192 on an amended spending bill that delays “Obamacare” by one year instead of October 1, when its implementation is scheduled to begin.
But this scheme is not acceptable to President Barack Obama and his Democratic Party. Ahead of the House vote, the White House made it clear that the President would veto the measure. It attacked the House Republicans for proposing amendments that “advance a narrow ideological agenda and threaten the nation’s economy”.
“By including extraneous measures that have no place in a government funding bill and that the President and Senate already made clear are unacceptable, House Republicans are pushing the Government toward shutdown,” charged the White House statement.
If neither side blinks and a “clean” spending bill is not passed by the House, the US would face its first government shutdown in 17 years. The last shutdown in 1995-96 was during the Clinton administration, which was over funding for Medicare, education and environment plans. It lasted 28 days in two spells, marked by suspension of all non-essential services and government employees being furloughed.
Without passage of the spending bill, the US Government would technically run out of money beginning Monday midnight. Even a partial shutdown could result in hundreds and thousands of government workers being sent home from work without pay.
The Republicans, however, are defiant, driven by their outright opposition to “Obamacare”. As House Republican leader Eric Cantor put it, “We will do everything we can to protect Americans against the harmful effects of Obamacare. This bill does that. We’re united in the House as Republicans. Now it’s up to the Senate Democrats to answer.”
Senate Democrats for their part have let it be known that the House amendments are unacceptable. “To be absolutely clear, the Senate will reject both the one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act and the repeal of the medical device tax,” Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said, adding: “After weeks of futile political games from Republicans, we are still at square one.”
“Republicans have tried and failed to defund or delay the health care law more than 40 times, and they know this demand is reckless and irresponsible,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said, attacking House Republicans for going all out to “make an ideological point by demanding the sabotage of the health care law”.