Government Shutdown Far More Dangerous Today

Jeffrey Zients speaking at press conference – Wiki

It is looking more and more like the budget showdown between the Democrats and Republicans will turn into a government shutdown 2011 by this weekend. The Obama administration has already started to inform federal workers who will be required to still come to work and those who will be told to stay home.

The Washington Post reported yesterday, “About 800,000 of the 2.1 million federal workers nationwide were expected to be furloughed, with exceptions for national security and other essential employees . . . . “If there is a shutdown, it would have very real effects on the services the American people rely on, as well as on the economy as a whole,” Jeffrey Zients, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters at the White House.” (Click here to read the complete Washington Post story.)

During the last several , there have been a series of short-term spending bills to keep the government running. The latest includes $12 billion in cuts offered up by the Republican controlled Congress that will buy another week to negotiate. This time, the President is digging in his heels according to a Washington Times story yesterday, “Without a short-term extension, lawmakers face two options: either reach a deal on a broad bill to fund the government for the rest of this year, or else have the government shut down as of midnight Friday. “If presented with this bill, the president will veto it,” the White House said in an official statement of policy objecting to the House’s offer. The White House said it was “a distraction from the real work” on reaching a broader agreement.” (Click here to read the complete Washington Times story.)

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