NEW YORK: US stocks on Monday retreated as a partial US government shutdown loomed due to Washington political gridlock over a new budget.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 128.57 points (0.84 percent) to 15,129.67. The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 10.20 points (0.60 percent) to 1,681.55, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 10.12 points (0.27 percent) at 3,771.48.
Stocks were in the red all day, but losses moderated as some investors hoped a last-minute compromise might avert the shutdown, slated for midnight Monday.
"We've seen this movie before and we know it ends," said Alan Skrainka, chief investment officer for Cornerstone Wealth Management. "Lots of drama, lots of excitement, and at the end, they kick the can down the road once again."
Several leading consumer-goods equities fell after European peer Unilever warned of weakening sales in "many" emerging market countries. Dow component Procter & Gamble lost 2.1 percent, Colgate-Palmolive fell 1.1 percent and Kimberly-Clark dipped 0.7 percent.
Some technology stocks faltered, including Oracle (-1.8 percent), Facebook (-2.0 percent) and Apple (-1.2 percent).
But Microsoft was flat and Cisco gained 0.4 percent.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals rose 2.4 percent after Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised its valuation target following a favorable presentation regarding its eylea drug at this weekend's Retina Society meeting. Eylea treats diabetic macular edema. -- AFP
WASHINGTON — It's been 17 years since the federal government last faced a partial shutdown because Congress and the president couldn't agree on a spending bill. A lot has changed in that time, leaving federal employees, citizens and even government decision-makers confused about what a shutdown would mean.
Every shutdown is different. The politics that cause them are different. Because of technology and structural overhauls, the way the government functions has changed since 1996. Much of what will happen is unknown.
Here's what we do know about Tuesday's looming shutdown:
THE BASICS
1. What causes a shutdown? Under the Constitution, Congress must pass laws to spend money. If Congress can't agree on a spending bill — or if, in the case of the Clinton-era shutdowns, the president vetoes it — the government does not have the legal authority to spend money.
2. What's a continuing resolution? Congress used to spend money by passing a budget first, then 12 separate appropriations bills. That process has broken down, and Congress uses a stopgap continuing resolution, or CR, that maintains spending at current levels for all or part of the year.
3. Why can't Congress agree? The Republican-controlled House has passed a spending bill that maintains spending levels but does not provide funding to implement the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. The Democratic Senate insists that the program be fully funded and that Congress pass what they call a "clean" CR.
4. What is a "clean" CR? A continuing resolution without policy changes.
5. Why is this happening now? The government runs on a fiscal year from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. Shutdowns can happen at other times of the year when Congress passes a partial-year spending bill.
6. Could government agencies ignore the shutdown? Under a federal law known as the Anti-Deficiency Act, it can be a felony to spend taxpayer money without an appropriation from Congress.
7. When would a shutdown begin? When the fiscal year ends at midnight Monday. Most federal workers would report to work Tuesday, but unless they're deemed "essential," they would work no more than four hours on shutdown-related activities before being furloughed.
8. When would the shutdown end? Immediately after the president signs a spending bill. As a practical matter, it could be noon the following day before most government offices that were shut down would reopen their doors.
10. How long do shutdowns usually last? Most last no more than three days. Some last less than a day.
11. When was the longest shutdown in history? The longest was also the most recent: from Dec. 16, 1995, through Jan. 5, 1996. That's 21 days.
12. Would this shutdown be different from those in the 1990s? Yes. When the 1995 shutdown started, Congress had already passed three of 13 appropriations bills. (They funded military construction, agriculture, and energy and water projects.) Also, more government services are automated.
THE DEBT LIMIT
13. What's the difference between a shutdown and a debt crisis? In a shutdown, the government lacks the legal authority to spend money on non-essential services. In a debt crisis, the government is mandated to spend money — but doesn't have the legal authority to borrow the money to spend it.
14. Are the two related? Only by timing, which is somewhat coincidental.
15. When will the government run out of borrowing authority? Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew says it could come as soon as Oct. 17.
16. Has the United States ever defaulted on its debt before? No.
17. If the nation hits the debt limit, will government shut down? That's a big unknown question. The Treasury Department has said the most likely scenario is that it would delay payments, paying only those bills it can afford, using daily tax revenue.
GOVERNMENT SERVICES
18. Will I still get my mail? Yes. The U.S. Postal Service functions as an independent business unit.
19. Can I get a passport? Maybe, but hurry. The Department of State says it has some funds outside the annual congressional appropriation. "Consular operations domestically and overseas will remain 100% operational as long as there are sufficient fees to support operations," the department says.
20. Can I visit national parks? No. The National Park Service says day visitors will be told to leave immediately, and entrances will be closed.
21. What about campers already in the parks? They will be given two days to leave.
22. Will Washington museums be open? The Smithsonian, the National Zoo and the Holocaust Museum would all be closed. Private museums, such as the Newseum, the Spy Museum and Mount Vernon, would remain open. Rule of thumb: If it's usually free, it's probably closed.
23. What about the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts? The Kennedy Center does receive an annual appropriation from Congress, but also runs on ticket revenue and endowment funds. The center expects to stay open through a shutdown.
24. What about the National Archives?All archives and most presidential libraries will be closed, unless they're operated by a private foundation — as all pre-Herbert Hoover presidential museums are. The Federal Records Center Program, which supports other agencies, would continue to operate because it uses a revolving fund.
25. Will the District of Columbia shut down? The district does not have complete autonomy and relies on an appropriation from Congress to operate. So during the shutdowns in the 1990s, trash went uncollected, and many city departments closed. In a departure from past shutdowns, Mayor Vincent Gray has informed the Office of Management and Budget that he has deemed all city employees "essential." The district's own attorney general has declared the mayor's plan illegal.
28. Will the government still release economic data? Probably. The weekly unemployment claims number would still come out, and the September jobs report, due out Friday, probably will, too. The Department of Commerce reasons that some of its data is so economically sensitive that delaying it risks that it will be leaked.
30. Will disaster response be affected? No. However, all "non-disaster" grants — such as state and local preparedness programs — would be postponed, the Department of Homeland Security says.
31. Will e-Verify be affected? Yes. The government system to allow companies to voluntarily check the legal work status of its employees would be shut down.
32. Would a shutdown put the brakes on implementing the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare?" No. The state-run exchanges for the uninsured would open as scheduled Tuesday. "The marketplaces will be open on Tuesday, no matter what, even if there is a government shutdown," President Obama said Friday.
34. Would seniors continue to get Social Security benefits? Yes. Social Security is a mandatory spending program, and the people who send those checks would continue to work under a legal doctrine called "necessary implication."
35. Can I apply for Social Security benefits, appeal a denial of benefits, change my address or sign up for direct deposit?Yes.
36. Can I get a new or replacement Social Security card, benefit verification statement or earnings record correction?No.
37. Would the government continue to pay unemployment benefits? Yes. The Employment and Training Administration "will continue to provide essential functions, as occurred during the shutdown of 1995," according to the Department of Labor contingency plan.
38. Will I be able to get food stamps? Yes. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is funded through the Recovery Act and from funds that don't expire for another year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says.
40. And the federal school lunch program? Schools are reimbursed for these costs on a monthly basis and are allowed to carry over funds from the previous fiscal year. The USDA expects most schools will be able to continue providing meals through October.
41. What will happen to veterans receiving compensation for service- or combat-related wounds and injuries? The Department of Veterans Affairs said if the shutdown continues into late October, it will run out of money for compensation and pension checks to more than 3.6 million veterans who rely on the money to support themselves.
42. Can I still get a federally backed loan? Maybe not. "Federal loans for rural communities, small business owners, families buying a home will be frozen," President Obama said Friday.
43. Does that mean I can't get an FHA mortgage? No. The Federal Housing Administration says it "will endorse new loans under current multi-year appropriation authority in order to support the health and stability of the U.S. mortgage market."
44. Does that mean I can't get a VA mortgage? No. The Department of Veterans Affairs says loans are funded via user fees and should continue. However, during the last shutdown, "loan Guaranty certificates of eligibility and certificates of reasonable value were delayed."
52. Why do some federal employees continue to work during a shutdown? The law — or at least, the Justice Department's interpretation of it — contains exemptions for several classes of employees: The biggest exemption is for employees necessary to protect public health, safety or property. But property could include government data, ongoing research experiments or other intangibles. Political appointees are exempt because they cannot be placed on leave by law. Employees necessary for the president to carry out his constitutional responsibilities are exempt. Finally, employees whose salaries are paid from sources outside an annual spending bill can still get paid and report to work.
54. Would the president be paid during a shutdown? Yes. The president's $400,000 salary is mandatory spending. If furloughs begin to affect the government's ability to process payroll, his paycheck could be delayed.
55. What about White House staff? Some high-ranking presidential appointees are exempt from the Annual and Sick Leave Act of 1951, which means they can essentially be made to work unpaid overtime. Also, any employee necessary for the president to carry out his constitutional duties would be exempt.
56. And the president's personal aides? The White House has 90 staffers who work in the residence. During a shutdown, 15 of them would stay on the job.
57. Would Congress continue to be paid during a shutdown? Yes. The 27th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1992, holds that "No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened." Intended to prevent Congress from voting itself a raise, it also protects members from a pay cut.
58. What about congressional staff? Like other federal employees, they would be deemed essential or non-essential. Essential staff would include those necessary to carry out constitutional responsibilities, such as the parliamentarians, or for protection of members, such as the sergeants-at-arms. Staff of the appropriations committees may also be needed to write the law that would end the shutdown.
59. Would active-duty military be furloughed? No. All active-duty military are essential and should report as scheduled Tuesday, the Department of Defense said Friday.
61. Would active-duty military be paid during a shutdown? If a shutdown lasts longer than a week, the Pentagon might not be able to process its payroll in time for the Oct. 15 paychecks, Defense Department Comptroller Robert Hale said Friday. The House passed a separate bill early Sunday that would appropriate money for active-duty and reserve paychecks regardless of the shutdown — and also pay for support services to make sure they get paid. That bill passed the House 422-0, but still must go to the Senate.
62. Could federal employees simply volunteer their services? No. A 19th-century federal law forbids volunteers because the government doesn't want them filing claims for back pay after the shutdown is over, according to a legal analysis by Washington attorney Raymond Natter.
63. Would federal employees get paid retroactively, even if they didn't work? Maybe. Congress granted retroactive pay to furloughed workers after the shutdowns of the mid-1990s, but that wouldn't necessarily happen again. "I believe this time is going to be much different. This is a much different Congress than the 1995 Congress," said Cox, federal employee union president. "I'm not sure that they'd even want to go back and pay the people who worked."
THE LONG TERM
64. How much money would a shutdown save taxpayers? Most likely, it wouldn't. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says shutdowns cost money in terms of contingency planning, lost user fees and back pay. A government estimate after the shutdown in 1995-96 estimated its cost at $1.4 billion.
65. What effect would a shutdown have on the economy? Economists say even a short shutdown — of three or four days — would begin to shave decimal points off economic growth. A sustained shutdown of three or four weeks "would do significant economic damage," economist Mark Zandi told USA TODAY.
66. What about the stock market? The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 3.7% during the 1995-96 government shutdown, according to S&P Capital IQ. Stocks quickly rebounded after the government got back to work, rising 10.5% the month after the shutdown ended.
Contributing: Adam Shell, Tim Mullaney in New York, Gregg Zoroya in McLean, Va., Raju Chebium of Gannett News Service; Rick Maze and Andrew Tilghman of Military Times; Surae Chinn of WUSA-TV in Washington; and the Associated Press.
American college student Amanda Knox spent four years in jail because of murder charges in the death of her roommate Meredith Kercher while studying abroad in Perugia, Italy. She and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted in 2009 to 25 years in prison (Sollecito got 26 years). The conviction was overturned in 2011. Here's a look at the characters in Knox's trial:
HIDE CAPTION
Who's who in the Amanda Knox trial
Who's who in the Amanda Knox trial
Who's who in the Amanda Knox trial
Who's who in the Amanda Knox trial
Who's who in the Amanda Knox trial
Who's who in the Amanda Knox trial
Who's who in the Amanda Knox trial
Who's who in the Amanda Knox trial
Who's who in the Amanda Knox trial
<<
<
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
>
>>
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Knox and her ex-boyfriend were acquitted in 2011 over the killing
But the Italian Supreme Court has sent the case back an appeals court
Knox is staying in the United States and will not be in court
She has said she is afraid to return to the country where she spent four years in jail
(CNN) -- The latest chapter in Amanda Knox's long legal battle began Monday in Florence, Italy, with a retrial over the 2007 killing of her British roommate Meredith Kercher.
But Knox, 26, who has expressed concern about returning to a country where she spent four years behind bars, was not in court.
She was convicted in 2009 of murdering Kercher, a 21-year old British exchange student who was found stabbed to death in November 2007 in the villa the two young women rented in the central Italian university town of Perugia.
But Italy's Supreme Court decided last year to retry the case, saying the jury that acquitted Knox didn't consider all the evidence, and that discrepancies in testimony needed to be answered.
Afraid to go back
Knox has said she's scared to return to Italy.
"I'm afraid to go back there," she said in an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo in May. "I don't want to go back into prison."
The high court also said evidence could support prosecutors' initial argument -- that Kercher was killed in a twisted sex game gone wrong.
Knox has said such claims are "a bombardment of falsehood and fantasy."
"No one has ever claimed that I was ever taking part in deviant sexual activity. None of my roommates, none of my friends, none of the people who knew me there. This is simply coming out of the prosecution," she told CNN in May. "I was not strapping on leather and bearing a whip. I have never done that. I have never taken part in an orgy. Ever."
The Supreme Court's decision to send the case back to the appeal court for retrial "may be interpreted by the American authorities as double jeopardy -- twice tried for the same fact or the same case," said Riccardo Montana, a law lecturer at City University in London. "In Italy it's not like this, because this is still the same trial."
Watching from afar
If the court convicts her, Knox will be ordered to return to Italy. If she refuses, Italy could request her extradition from the United States. But it's not clear if American authorities would comply.
Knox has said she would be willing to take a lie detector test.
"I'd do anything to prove my innocence," she told CNN affiliate ITV earlier this month. "I don't think that is necessary. But like I said, I'm doing everything to prove my innocence. It's just very sad that's what it has come to."
Knox isn't the only person watching the retrial from afar.
Sollecito, her former boyfriend, told CNN he plans to stay in the Dominican Republic with a friend. At the moment he says he has no immediate plans to return to Italy.
And as the legal saga continues over Kercher's death, her family remains in Britain.
"It took us as a family nearly five years to even begin to feel ready to lay Mez to rest and it is still extremely painful now," they said in a statement Sunday, according to ITV.
They also appeared to respond to recent comments by Knox that she would like to visit Kercher's grave.
"She now has a place near to us that we and her friends can visit to take flowers and spend time...her grave is now her safe place to sleep in peace and be with us and we hope that is respected by all," the family statement said.
CNN's Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong; Erin McLaughlin reported from London
Susan Davis, USA TODAY 12:22 p.m. EDT September 29, 2013
WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans showed no signs Sunday of relenting on their efforts to dismantle President Obama's health care law on a stopgap funding bill, setting the course for the first government shutdown in 17 years starting Tuesday.
"The American people overwhelmingly reject Obamacare. They understand it's not working. The only people who aren't listening to the argument are the career politicians in Washington," said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on NBC's Meet the Press.
Cruz, who led a 21-hour filibuster-style speech against the health care law, has been a leading GOP advocate for using the stopgap measure as leverage to extract concessions on the Affordable Care Act, which begins open enrollment for the health care insurance exchanges on Oct. 1.
Cruz joined a chorus of GOP lawmakers on Sunday talk shows who sought to spread the political blame to President Obama and Senate Democrats if a shutdown occurs. "(Democrats) are the ones playing games. They need to act. They're the ones that are truly threatening a government shutdown by not being here and acting," said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., the fourth-ranking House Republican.
The Senate voted Friday to approve a stopgap funding measure through Nov. 15 after a week of debate. On Saturday, the House made a second attempt at dismantling the health law after their first attempt to remove spending for it in the funding bill failed.
The House approved 231-192 an amendment to delay implementation for one year, as well as an amendment to repeal a 2.3% tax on medical devices enacted to help pay for the law. The medical device tax is expected to raise $29 billion over 10 years. The House also voted to extend the length of the stopgap bill to Dec. 15, and approved a separate bill to make sure U.S. troops continue to get paid in the event of a shutdown.
Many parts of the 2010 health care law have already been implemented, including discounts for prescription medications and the provision allowing children under 26 to remain on their parents' health insurance policies. On Tuesday, the state websites where uninsured Americans can shop for and buy health insurance will open. Those without health insurance will be required to buy it or pay a penalty; those whose income is up to 400% of the poverty level will receive a federal subsidy to help pay for the insurance.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the House's action was "pointless" and White House spokesman Jay Carney said it was "reckless and irresponsible" because Obama has already said he will veto any attempt to delay or defund the law in the unlikely event it reaches his desk.
Senate rules allow Reid to knock down the two amendments with one motion to table, which needs only 51 votes and cannot be blocked by Republicans.
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Sunday that Republicans were readying a third attempt on Monday if Reid rejects the amendments, as expected.
"I think the House will get back together in enough time, send another provision not to shut the government down, but to fund it, and it will have a few other options in there for the Senate to look at again," McCarthy told Fox News Sunday.
However, House Republicans' options on the eve of a shutdown are limited. The House could advance a stopgap bill that keeps the government open for a week to keep the health care fight going and the government funded. Republicans could also attempt to advance another provision affecting the health care law, but there is no sign it would meet a different fate in the Senate.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, could put the "clean" Senate-passed funding bill on the House floor where it would likely pass on the support of House Democrats with some Republicans, but he is under political pressure from conservative lawmakers and allied outside groups to hold the line.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told CBS's Face the Nation that the Senate will reject the House's latest effort and that he expects a shutdown will occur. "I'm afraid I do," he said.
Durbin said Democrats were amendable to finding ways to reform the health care law, and acknowledged that many Democrats support proposals such as the medical device tax repeal, but he said the debate should happen independent of a bill to keep the government running.
"I fully support that (debate), but let's sit down in a bipartisan and calm way, not with the prospect of shutting down the government or shutting down the economy," he said.
TEMPE -- Maybe nobody was harder on Arizona State football coach Todd Graham after the Sun Devils' debacle at Stanford than Todd Graham.
In the wake of that 42-28 loss, the ASU coach first called the effort "disappointing," then "frustrating" and finally "catastrophic." Graham said he and his staff didn't have the Sun Devils prepared to win.
But with USC coming to Tempe, he pointed out: "You go win this one, and everybody loves you again."
The Sun Devils rekindled the flame Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium, dumping the Trojans in a second-half onslaught during a 62-41 victory.
Suddenly, that Stanford game looks like nothing more than a lovers' tiff that will be completely smoothed over if the Sun Devils deliver another bouquet when they see Notre Dame in Texas on Saturday.
This was a game the Sun Devils had to win. After eight wins, including a bowl victory in his debut season, Graham ratcheted up expectations with talk about winning a Pac-12 title in only his second year.
But a loss would have left ASU 0-2 in the Pac-12, and they could have kissed their hopes for a berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game goodbye.
"I told our guys we go forward or we go back," Graham said. "This game for our program was huge. We moved forward."
Plus, it seemed as if the Sun Devils had barely broken camp before ASU's administration raised some eyebrows by extending Graham's contract. A loss to the Trojans would only have fueled the second-guessing.
We would argue that Graham, because he has a contract heavy on incentives, remains a bargain by head-coach standards in a major football conference.
In fact, ASU President Michael Crow recently said that incentive-based deals are the only way he will go.
"We'll only pay our coaches median salaries and then give them incentives for winning," he said. "We will not pay these $5 million salaries. We will not do it — for which we get no credit."
But even with an incentive-laden deal, there would have been a lot of questions if ASU had followed that performance at Stanford, in which Graham said the Sun Devils made "every mistake you can possibly make," with another stinker against the Trojans.
At Stanford, the kicking game — a Graham priority — was a nightmare. The Sun Devils couldn't establish a run game or stop Stanford's. There were dropped passes, coverage errors in the secondary and even six penalties for 65 yards after the team had just four penalties for 25 yards in its first two games.
In other words, that disciplinary stamp Graham placed on the Sun Devils in his first season was noticeably absent.
Enter the Trojans, with a beleaguered coach Lane Kiffin (who was fired by USC early Sunday morning) and only 56 scholarship players available in Tempe on Saturday night because of injuries and scholarship restrictions stemming from the Reggie Bush mess.
Five USC scholarship players already have been lost due to injuries this season. USC's offense had been largely ineffective, and the Trojans lost at home to Washington State.
In fact, about the only bright spot early this season for USC had been the strength of a defense coordinated by Clancy Pendergast, the former Cardinals defensive coordinator during their Super Bowl season. So much for that. The Sun Devils rolled up 612 yards in total offense.
Still, it's USC. The Trojans have cache.
And they did arrive in town with a 3-1 record and victories over ASU in 12 of the past 13 meetings between the schools.
The Sun Devils blew them out with a quick-strike burst in the third quarter and then kept pouring it on in the fourth.
Running back Marion Grice scored four times, twice on runs and twice on pass receptions. Quarterback Taylor Kelly threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns.
It might have been worse, but the Sun Devils failed to turn two turnovers in the final 6:41 of the first half into touchdowns, settling for two chip-shot Zane Gonzalez field goals. And ASU's defense yielded 128 yards to USC back Tre Madden and 122 to his backup Justin Davis.
But, much as they did at Stanford, but only after it was too late, the Sun Devils counterpunched. They scored three touchdowns in a span of about four minutes, one a defensive score on safety Alden Darby's 46-yard interception return.
Running back Marion Grice added another score, his third touchdown of the game, late in the third quarter on a 9-yard run.
"I'm really proud of our guys, in particular our offensive line," Graham said. "I challenged them. I said we have to come off the football and knock these guys off the ball. That (USC defensive) team, the numbers they've had against the run, and we totally dominated them."
Now, the Sun Devils suddenly have the chance to do something special.
They face Notre Dame, a team that lost at home to Oklahoma on Saturday, on a neutral field in Arlington, Texas. Granted, it's going to be a pro-Irish crowd there, but it is another game the Sun Devils can win.
So, after all of the hand-wringing following the showing at Stanford, the Sun Devils are going to get through their so-called four-game "gauntlet" against Wisconsin, Stanford, USC and Notre Dame no worse than 2-2.
And if they beat the Irish, they'll be 4-1 overall and 3-1 in that difficult four-game stretch.
What's not to love about that?
Bob Young writes for AZCentral, a Gannett property
GALLERY: ALL THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL ACTION FROM WEEK 5
With Washington barreling toward a government shutdown, a deadlocked Congress entered the final weekend of the fiscal year with no clear ideas of how to avoid furloughs for more than 800,000 federal workers. Millions more could be left without paychecks.
The Senate on Friday approved a stopgap government funding bill and promptly departed, leaving all of the pressure to find a solution on House Republican leaders.
President Obama weighed in, sternly lecturing GOP leaders that the easiest path forward would be to approve the Senate's bill, which includes money for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the president's prized legislation achievement, which he signed into law in 2010. But a far-right bloc of House and Senate Republicans banded together to leave House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) virtually powerless to act.
"My message to Congress is this: Do not shut down the government. Do not shut down the economy. Pass a budget on time," Obama said in the White House press briefing room.
Boehner's leadership team offered no public comment and remained out of sight most of Friday, hunkering down for another weekend on the brink. For Boehner, this is the latest in a series of unstable moments that have become the hallmark of his three-year run as speaker.
With a stroke-of-midnight deadline Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said Democrats would reject any conservative add-ons that Boehner might attach to the funding bill. That would further delay passage, and given the staunch opposition from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who has suggested that he will not help move the process along, the slow-moving Senate would require up to a week to approve something even if Reid were amenable to the changes. That sets the stage for a shutdown Tuesday.
"We've passed the only bill that can avert a government shutdown Monday night. I said this on the floor, I say it again: This is it, time is gone," Reid said Friday after the midday passage of the funding bill on a party-line vote.
Before that final roll call, Cruz's attempt to filibuster the legislation was throttled in a bipartisan 79-to-19 vote, but the first-year senator drew support from nearly half the rank-and-file Republicans in defiance of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Cruz confirmed reports that he has been huddling with House conservatives to help plot their strategy to force Boehner's hand on Obamacare. "I am confident if the House listens to the people, as it did last week, that it will continue to step forward and respond to the suffering that is coming from Obamacare," Cruz told reporters Friday, saying he has had "numerous conversations" with House Republicans.
Those Republicans upended a strategy crafted by Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to first advance legislation related to the federal borrowing limit, including more demands to delay Obamacare, then allow government funding to be approved.
That plan required the GOP leaders to draw all votes from their side of the aisle — 217 of the 232 Republicans — and instead the Cruz-backed contingent hold more than enough votes to sabotage any moves by Boehner and Cantor. Those House Republicans offered their version late Friday of what they want attached to the funding resolution and sent back to the Senate: an amendment delaying until 2015 implementation of all the health law's taxes, mandates and benefits as well as its provisions aimed at squeezing savings from Medicare.
Three years ago when President Barack Obama signed the 906-page law that promised to transform health care, Americans were deeply divided about whether it was right for the country.
Two days from its implementation, little has changed.
Many remain skeptical and confused about the law. Critics are convinced it will curb consumers' choices while plunging the country deeper into debt.
But to millions who can't afford health insurance or were denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions, the law represents a new hope — both because of its aim to virtually guarantee access to all Americans and the pledge it would rein in spiraling health care costs.
The law, known colloquially by both detractors and supporters as Obamacare, now faces its ultimate test: whether it will work.
Barring an unlikely last-minute derailment in Congress, which may force a federal government shutdown as part of a Republican battle to block the law's implementation, more than 40 million Americans who don't have health insurance will have their first shot at signing up for coverage Tuesday.
Many of them will be doing so for the first time.
"These are our aunts, uncles, grandmas, parents and our neighbors who will now have an opportunity to seek the best health care available, an option they didn't have before," said Lee Francis, president and chief executive of Erie Family Health Center, one of the state's largest networks of community heath clinics.
For people who lost their jobs and benefits during the Great Recession, the new coverage offers a chance to regain some security.
"It's a blessing," said Debra Douglas, a Far South Side 52-year-old who last year lost her job as a certified nurse's assistant and the health insurance that came with it.
Of the more than 1.6 million uninsured Illinoisans, some 342,000 will be newly eligible for Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled. Nearly 1 million others are expected to qualify for new federal tax credits to help offset the cost of buying private insurance on new health insurance exchanges. State officials expect about 337,000 to sign up in the first year.
Nationwide, the Congressional Budget Office projects that about 7 million will buy coverage for next year through exchanges, online marketplaces where consumers can compare health insurance plans and determine whether they're eligible for federal assistance.
As with many big programs, there have been setbacks.
Late last week, it was made clear that some portions of the system wouldn't be ready. Federal officials said Thursday that small-business and Spanish-language health insurance enrollment services would not begin Tuesday as planned.
That announcement came on the heels of a one-year delay on a mandate that large employers provide coverage to all full-time workers or pay a penalty.
Critics have seized on the stumbles as more proof that the law was ill-conceived, poorly executed and doomed for failure.
State and federal officials acknowledge that the enrollment systems are largely untested — at least with mass audiences. An Illinois-based call center to help guide consumers through the sign-up also won't be ready Tuesday, state officials said.
"This is a very complex operation that we're putting up. We are coming down to the wire on it," said Cristal Thomas, one of Gov. Pat Quinn's deputy governors. "We are sitting here pretty confident that we are launching on Oct. 1. Even if not everything (will have) full functionality, we will have something up and running for people to access."
But the law itself is no panacea for solving America's problem with the uninsured, who drive up costs for others because they often put off going to the doctor until problems are so severe they must be admitted into the hospital. Those costs then get passed along to taxpayers and people with insurance, who pay higher health care premiums.
Millions of Americans are expected to remain uninsured, including more than 1 million in Illinois, at least in the first year, according to state and federal estimates.
NEW YORK: US stocks on Friday closed a downcast week on a sour note, declining amid relentless partisan squabbling over a budget bill to avert a partial US government shutdown.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 70.06 points (0.46 percent) at 15,258.24. The broad-based S&P 500 lost 6.92 points (0.41 percent) at 1,691.75, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 5.83 points (0.15 percent) at 3,781.59.
The Democratic-led Senate on Friday approved a temporary budget bill to fund government operations at the start of the 2014 fiscal year Tuesday.
But the measure, which goes to the House of Representatives, does not defund President Barack Obama's health-care law, a prime objective of House Republicans.
With no compromise in sight, Obama told a White House news conference that Congress must pass a bill to fund the government and failure to do so would destabilize the world economy.
Traders were reluctant to buy shares on Friday with such uncertainty, said Art Hogan, head of product strategy for equity research at Lazard Capital Markets.
"The safety trade is going to be to pare back," Hogan said. "Traders are saying 'let's not go into the weekend with a lot of exposure in the off-chance that something bad happens.'"
Dow component Microsoft rose 1.5 percent after the technology website All Things D reported that Ford Motor Co. chief executive Alan Mulally is the front-runner to become the company's next CEO. Ford shares fell 1.3 percent.
Sport apparel giant Nike, which joined the Dow Monday, jumped 4.7 percent after quarterly earnings of 86 cents per share came in 8 cents above forecasts. The company reported strong sales in much of Europe.
Slumping department store chain JC Penney tumbled 13.2 percent after announcing it was selling 84 million shares, a day after saying it had enough capital for its restructuring plan.
Airline giant United sank 9.3 percent after projecting that its passenger revenue per available seat mile, a widely watched benchmark, would rise 2.5-3.5 percent in the coming quarter, below expectations. The data suggests a possible "return to underperformance," said Barclays.
Consultancy company Accenture lost 2.4 percent after earnings met expectations, but booking guidance of US$32 billion-US$35 billion for the upcoming fiscal year "suggests a slow cyclical recovery," said Bank of America Merrill Lynch. -- AFP
Susan Davis, USA TODAY 12:18 p.m. EDT September 27, 2013
WASHINGTON — The Senate was on track to approve Friday a stopgap spending bill through mid-November to head off a government shutdown in three days, but the legislation has inflamed House Republicans because it stripped out a provision to defund President Obama's health care law.
Senate conservatives pledged to keep up their efforts to dismantle the law. "This vote is not the end. It's not even the beginning of the end," said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, will not accept a "clean" funding bill and intends to amend it and send it back to the Senate by Monday. However, House Republicans are unsure how, exactly, to respond.
The House adjourned Friday but is scheduled to be in session over the weekend.
There is "uncertainty in their own caucus," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday, "I don't think we know what we'll be voting on from what minute to the next, because I don't think they know what we'll be voting on from one moment to the next."
Pelosi said Democrats will vote in support of the Senate funding bill, but Boehner is under pressure from House conservatives to again try to use the spending bill to rein in the health care law.
Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said lawmakers were debating a number of alternatives to the Senate funding bill but said as of Friday, the next steps were murky. "To be honest with you, I don't know," he said. "We haven't coalesced around a consensus yet."
House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., who is charged with drafting the spending bill, said he was awaiting a decision from GOP leaders. "I'd be open to whatever leadership thinks we should do," he said.
House Republicans are also working to put together a legislative package tied to an impending vote to raise the debt ceiling, the nation's borrowing limit, that will hit Oct. 17, according to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. The bill would suspend the debt ceiling through the 2014 elections in exchange for a one-year delay of implementation of the health care law and instructions on how to overhaul the federal tax code without raising additional revenue.
The package also includes a grab-bag of perennially popular GOP legislation that is unpalatable to Democrats, such as construction of a new oil pipeline from Canada to Texas, and increasing means testing for Medicaid recipients.
President Obama has maintained that he will veto any legislation that seeks to delay or defund his signature domestic achievement, and Democrats have vowed not to negotiate over the debt ceiling.
A Seattle-bound plane was forced to make an emergency landing after the pilot suffered an apparent heart attack onboard, officials said.
United Airlines flight 1603 was diverted to Boise, Idaho, after the unidentified pilot passed out aboard the Boeing 737-900 shortly before 8 p.m., an airport spokeswoman said.
NST Online Business Times : latest
American college student 