www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

Make me your Homepage
left corner left corner
China Daily Website

Impasse in Congress shuts down services

Updated: 2013-10-02 00:05
By Chen Weihua in Washington ( China Daily)

US government closures just the beginning of more fiscal trouble

Believe it or not, the government of the world's largest economy and only superpower has been on a partial shutdown since Tuesday. The unprecedented shutdown - the first in 17 years - that could put more than 800,000 federal workers on unpaid leave, came after the US Congress failed to find a compromise on a bill to fund government operations.

Impasse in Congress shuts down services

A furloughed federal employee holds a sign on the steps to the US Capitol after the US Government shut down last night, on Capitol Hill in Washington October 1, 2013.[Photo/Agencies]

Though the Democratic-led Senate and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives had tried to broker a deal late into Monday night, the shutdown seemed inevitable after the Senate rejected the US Congress proposal that the temporary funding for the government should include a delay in the implementation of US President Barack Obama's health care program. No one knows if a compromise can be reached in the coming days.

"Unfortunately, the Congress has not fulfilled its responsibility. It has failed to pass a budget and, as a result, much of our government must now shut down until Congress funds it again," Obama said in a midnight broadcast to the US military.

Criticizing the US Senate for rejecting the offer, House Speaker John Boehner said, "I hope that the Senate will consider our offer to discuss the issue so that we can resolve the issue quickly for the American people."

Even as the Democrats and Republicans blamed each other for the shutdown, a Pew Center survey released on Monday showed that more than 26 percent of US citizens are upset with the federal government, while 51 percent were frustrated at the way things were going. Only 17 percent of the respondents said they were content with the way the federal government was functioning.

Impasse in Congress shuts down services

Meanwhile, a Gallup poll shows that US citizens are more likely to believe the current budget debate is an attempt by both sides to gain political advantage (47 percent) and not a battle over principles and future direction of government (37 percent).

The dysfunctional Washington politics, which seems to be in a constant election campaign mode, has left many wondering to what extent the US can still promote itself as a role model political system and a leader of the world.

Obama is scheduled to leave on Saturday for a weeklong trip to Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines and attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and East Asia Summit. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel are already in Asia.

Although US government departments deemed essential would still be functioning, the shutdown is likely to have a wide-ranging impact.

For example, the Statue of Liberty, a popular tourist destination in New York harbor, has been closed to visitors since the National Park Service, which oversees the statue, will not have the money to run the daily operations.

The park service will close more than 400 national parks and museums, including the National Zoological Park and the Smithsonian museums in the National Mall. The 24/7 web cam that allows people to watch the panda at the National Zoo will also be turned off. But zookeepers will still feed the pandas.

Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker has postponed a scheduled talk on Tuesday morning at the Foreign Press Center in Washington DC clearly in a bid to deal with the chaos caused by the shutdown as 87 percent of the department's 46,420 employees would be sent home.

There have been 17 government shutdowns since 1976 but most of them lasted for a few days. The last and longest was in 1995-1996 when President Bill Clinton's government was shut down for 21 days.

The government shutdown this time might be just the first major drama in Washington in October. In less than three weeks time, the US government is expected to hit its debt ceiling. It means that unless the Congress raises the ceiling and allows the Treasury Department to issue new debt, the US may find itself unable to make all the payments, both at home and abroad.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

Previous Page 1 2 Next Page

8.03K
 
...
...
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产精品久久久久毛片 | 国产欧美精品综合一区 | 成人影院久久久久久影院 | 老司机午夜在线视频免费观 | 性亚洲精品 | 欧美一区在线观看视频 | 怡红院免费的全部视频 | 日本a级片免费看 | 午夜一级影院 | 国产欧美日韩在线不卡第一页 | 亚洲欧美日韩中文字幕在线一 | 怡红院免费播放全部视频 | 日韩欧美一区二区在线 | 日韩精品一区二区三区免费视频 | 日本韩国一级片 | 美女张开双腿让男人桶 | 欧美日韩性视频一区二区三区 | 成人精品视频一区二区在线 | 国产日韩亚洲不卡高清在线观看 | 久久影院在线观看 | 成人国产第一区在线观看 | 免费国产99久久久香蕉 | 97成人在线 | 一级毛片免费观看视频 | 亚洲一级香蕉视频 | 亚洲免费观看 | 国产欧美一级片 | 国产精品日韩欧美一区二区三区 | 99久久久免费精品免费 | 亚洲精品国产一区二区三区四区 | 国产 日韩 欧美 在线 | 久久精品视频免费在线观看 | 看免费人成va视频全 | 精品视频一区二区三区 | 91久久久久久久 | 大香伊蕉国产短视频69 | 欧美视频一区在线 | 亚洲欧美日韩久久一区 | 呦视频在线一区二区三区 | 久久精品视频网站 | 国内精品免费一区二区三区 |