THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 10, 1995 TAG: 9511100528
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF & WIRE REPORT
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long : 157 lines
President Clinton on Thursday ordered officials to begin preparing to shut down parts of the government next Tuesday, as a defiant Congress worked late into the night to finish work on two short-term bills to keep the government running.
Clinton has vowed to veto both bills - one to fund the government and one to raise the government's borrowing limit. He objects to a number of provisions Republicans added to them, including measures that would abolish the Commerce Department, impose higher Medicare premiums on the elderly and restrict lobbying by organizations that receive federal grants.
The new fiscal year began Oct. 1, but Congress is still struggling to complete work on all the new spending bills. The president and Congress signed a short-term spending measure to keep the government operating that will expire midnight Monday, and the Treasury is likely to bump up against the $4.9 trillion debt ceiling by midweek.
If the government exhausts its spending authority early next week, new Social Security claims could not be registered, veterans benefit checks would be delayed, no passports would be issued and, in Washington, all the monuments would be closed.
Even as the government headed toward what the White House called an inevitable shutdown, officials there and congressional GOP leaders engaged in a daylong rancorous exchange, flinging insults up and down Pennsylvania Avenue.
The White House charged that Republicans were engaging in ``a form of terrorism'' by trying to force Clinton to sign objectionable short-term legislation and threatening the furlough of more than 800,000 of the 2.1 million federal workers nationwide.
``Don't put a gun to the head of the president, the head of the country, and say: `You don't accept our priorities, you don't accept what we want to do to Medicare and Medicaid, what we want to do to education, we're going to blow you apart,' '' White House Chief of Staff Leon E. Panetta said.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and Senate Majority Leader Robert J. Dole, R-Kan., meanwhile, charged that Clinton was intentionally precipitating a crisis for political gain by refusing to negotiate.
``The American people can judge who's doing the hard work of governing and who's, quite frankly, playing destructive games,'' Gingrich said.
Hampton Roads area congressmen, who could see thousands of their federal-worker constituents placed on unpaid leave should the government shut down, were unanimous Thursday in denouncing the standoff between Clinton and GOP congressional leaders.
And despite their own partisan allegiances, the local lawmakers were critical of both sides in the dispute.
``It should be a tragic embarrassment to everyone in Washington if the government does shut down,'' said Rep. Owen B. Pickett, a Virginia Beach Democrat.
``I don't think either (Clinton or the GOP) has anything to gain by delaying'' a settlement, Pickett added. But ``egos are building up'' on both sides, he warned.
``This showdown is partisan politics at its worst,'' agreed Rep. Norman Sisisky, a Democrat whose district includes most of western Tidewater. ``If there is no money to run the federal government, federal employees are the ones who pay the price. Areas high in federal employment, like Hampton Roads and a lot of Virginia, will certainly suffer.''
Through a spokesman, Republican Rep. Herbert H. Bateman of Newport News also bemoaned the impact of a shutdown on federal workers.
``It's not fair to the federal employees that they're left hanging and dangling,'' said Dan Scandling, a top aide to Bateman.
Despite the increasingly sharp rhetoric at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, Sen. Charles S. Robb said he's optimistic that a budget deal can be cut before Monday night's deadline.
``I think it's fair to say that both sides in this little drama are taking a public position that does not reflect their hole card,'' Robb said.
The Virginia Democrat suggested that Congress could complete work Monday morning on a Republican budget plan, let Clinton veto it, and then present and quickly pass a compromise bill to keep the government operating.
The legislation would temporarily boost the $4.9 trillion debt ceiling by $67 billion to avert a default by the Treasury on $25 billion of interest to holders of U.S. Treasury bonds. It would also extend the existing short-term spending bill to keep the government operating through Dec. 1, but at a substantially reduced level. The Congress needs the additional time to complete work on the 13 annual spending bills.
The House voted 227-194 to approve the short-term increase in the debt ceiling, with seven Republicans opposing it and four Democrats supporting it. The Senate, meanwhile, voted 50-46 to approve its version of the interim spending bill, similar to one approved by the House on Wednesday, and planned to take up the House-passed debt ceiling legislation late Thursday night.
The House was expected to accept the Senate version of both measures and ship them to the White House today.
``It's up to the president of the United States,'' Dole said. ``If the government shuts down, his fingerprints are going to be all over it.''
Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, meanwhile, said he believed he had the authority to use money from some federal trust funds to keep the government functioning ``for some period of time'' that he declined to specify. But he still warned of the GOP borrowing extension legislation, ``This legislation is not a debt ceiling increase, it is a shortcut to default.''
The White House has opposed virtually every provision Republicans have included in the legislation on the grounds they are attempts to impose policy and should be legislated separately. There are divisions between the House and Senate Republicans over them as well, which will likely delay getting the measures to the president.
The administration, for example, opposes the elimination of the Commerce Department, a proposal championed by House Republicans but opposed in the Senate; the new lobbying restrictions on non-profit groups; higher Medicare premiums that are part of the GOP plan for overhauling Medicare; deep spending reductions; and a provision that would commit the president to a seven-year balanced budget plan. MEMO: This story was compiled from reports by The Washington Post, The
Associated Press and staff writer Dale Eisman.
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
Hampton Roads has one of the nation's largest concentrations of
federal employees. The four congressional districts that touch our area
rank in the top 25 nationally in the number of federal workers in each.
Here's a breakdown. These figures do not include military personnel.
District No. of National rank Congressman
workers
1 28,372 8 Herbert H. Bateman
2 25,114 10 Owen B. Pickett
3 20,024 24 Robert C. Scott
4 24,438 11 Norman Sisisky
Three other Virginia districts, all in the Washington suburbs, also
rank in the national top 10, according to the Federal Managers
Association. The state has a total of 274,832 federal workers, plus
87,681 active duty military personnel.
THE IMPACTS
How a shutdown of the U.S. government would affect public services
and agencies:
MAIL: The Postal Service, which is self-supporting, would continue
mail deliveries as usual.
RETIREES: Social Security checks would be issued, but new
applications could not be processed.
WELFARE: Cash welfare checks would continue, along with food stamps.
VETERANS: No veterans' benefit checks would be mailed. Medical staff
would remain on duty at veterans hospitals and clinics.
TOURISM: National park visitor centers and monuments would be closed.
Visitors would still have access to many parks and battlefields, but
without the usual services. All Smithsonian museums in Washington and
New York would close, as would the National Zoo.
TRANSPORTATION: Air traffic controllers, the Coast Guard, railway
inspectors and other essential safety personnel would remain on the
job.
DEFENSE: All active-duty military would report for duty. An estimated
571,000 of the Defense Department's 866,000 civilian employees also
would work.
JUSTICE: Federal prisons would operate as normal. Criminal
investigations and prosecutions would continue, but most civil cases
would be postponed. Federal courts are expected to remain open.
- ASSOCIATED PRESS
KEYWORDS: FEDERAL BUDGET LAYOFF by CNB