U.S. government begins "shutdown" amid row over budget

The U.S. government has begun a partial shutdown after failing to agree a new budget for the next financial year. The crisis means that up to 1million workers will have to go on unpaid leave, with no guarantee of backpay once a deal is struck. A midnight deadline to approve the shutdown passed as President Obama failed to avert the political stalemate. Republicans in the House of Congress have refused to back the budget without enforcing a delay in implementing Obama's healthcare reforms. Democrats are accusing the Republicans of being beholden the Tea Party conservatives and that the shutdown could threaten the U.S. economic recovery. It is the first government shutdown in 17 years. After the midnight deadline passed, federal agencies were directed to cut back services. National parks and Washington's Smithsonian museums will close, pension and veterans' benefit cheques will be delayed, and visa and passport applications will go unprocessed. Services deemed essential, such as air traffic control and food inspections, will continue. After House Republicans floated a late offer to break the deadlock, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rejected the idea, saying Democrats would not enter into formal negotiations on spending "with a gun to our head" in the form of government shutdowns. Republicans and Democrats have launched into a bitter blame game, each side shifting responsibility to the other in efforts to redirect a possible public backlash. If Congress can agree to a new funding bill soon, the shutdown could last days rather than weeks. But no signs emerged of a strategy to bring the parties together. President Barack Obama accused Republicans of being too beholden to Tea Party conservatives in the House of Representatives and said the shutdown could threaten the economic recovery. The shutdown, the culmination of three years of divided government and growing political polarization, was spearheaded by Tea Party conservatives united in their opposition to Obama, their distaste for Obama’s healthcare law and their campaign pledges to rein in government spending. Obama refused to negotiate over the demands and warned a shutdown could "throw a wrench into the gears of our economy." Some government offices and national parks will be shuttered, but spending for essential functions related to national security and public safety will continue, including pay for U.S. military troops. "It’s not shocking there is a shutdown, the shock is that it hasn’t happened before this," said Republican strategist John Feehery, a former Capitol Hill aide. "We have a divided government with such diametrically opposed views, we need a crisis to get any kind of result"
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