News Column

Shutdown Could Last Weeks, Debt Ceiling Looms

October 2, 2013

David Espo and Donna Cassata, The Associated Press

The GOP and Democrats are lining up their playing pieces as the government shutdown drags on.

First slowed, then stalled by political gridlock, the vast machinery of government clanged into partial shutdown mode on Tuesday. President Barack Obama warned the longer it goes, "the more families will be hurt."



Speaking at the White House, the president accused Republicans of causing the first partial closure in 17 years as part of a nonstop "ideological crusade" to wipe out his signature health care law.








Several House Democrats used the occasion to seek a vote on a stand-alone spending bill, a measure that Rep. Elizabeth Esty of Connecticut said would "end the Tea Party shutdown." The requests were ruled out of order.

Republican aides said all three bills that were sidetracked could be brought up again today under rules requiring a mere majority to pass. They said the House might also vote on a measure to reopen the hospital at the NIH, after several Democrats cited the impact on patients.


The talk of joining the current fight - the Republicans are trying to sidetrack the health care law by holding up funding for the fiscal year that began at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday - to a dispute involving the national debt limit suggested the shutdown could go on for some time.

The administration says the ceiling must be raised by midmonth, and Republicans have long vowed to seek cuts in spending at the same time, a condition Obama has rejected.

In Washington, some Republicans conceded privately they might bear the brunt of any public anger over the shutdown - and they seemed resigned to an eventual surrender in their latest struggle with Obama.



But that was far from the majority view among House Republicans, where Tea Party-aligned lawmakers prevailed more than a week ago on a reluctant leadership to link federal funding legislation to "Obamacare." In fact, some conservatives fretted the GOP had already given in too much.


In place of those items, Republicans now seek a one-year-delay in the requirement for individuals to buy insurance, and they want a separate provision that would dramatically raise the cost of health care for the president, vice president, members of Congress and thousands of aides.

What happened

House Republicans sought passage of bills aimed at reopening certain departments. Democrats generally opposed all three, saying Republicans can't choose which agencies open.

Several House Democrats used the occasion to seek a vote on a stand-alone spending bill. The requests were ruled out of order.


Original headline: Both parties hint that shutdown could last weeks

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