THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511120123
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long : 143 lines
President Clinton and GOP congressional leaders dug in their heels Saturday and refused to even talk about an emergency spending bill - which they agreed meant the federal government probably will run out of money and halt many functions Tuesday.
At the invitation of GOP Majority Leader Bob Dole and Speaker Newt Gingrich, White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta had agreed to meet with them Saturday to discuss the budget impasse. But after a morning of maneuvering over who would take part in the talks, the Republicans balked when Panetta insisted that congressional Democrats be present.
Later, Clinton told Gingrich and Dole that he would not meet with them until they agreed to drop a proposed increase in Medicare premiums from legislation that would keep the government running through the end of the month. At a news conference the Republican leaders dismissed that offer out of hand and testily blamed the White House for the stalemate.
``He, in effect, said on the telephone, you know, `Get lost,' '' Dole said. ``That was sort of the tone of it. If we can't even talk to the president of the United States, and we're the leaders of the Congress, how are we going to resolve this? I know when somebody is pulling my leg on the telephone. I wasn't born yesterday.''
``We want to balance the budget,'' Dole said. ``He wants to shut down the government.''
So instead of negotiating, the White House outlined its plans for shutting down many government functions and sending home about 800,000 federal employees Tuesday after current spending authority expires at midnight Monday.
By then, the Senate is expected to give final approval to a measure giving agencies money to spend through Dec. 1, but only with restrictive conditions that Clinton has said would prompt an automatic veto. Dole said Republicans had offered to rewrite the measure to make the proposed Medicare Part B premium increase - set at $7 a month - temporary, to provide time for a comprehensive budget solution, but Clinton rebuffed them.
The White House also has vowed to veto a separate measure to extend until Dec. 12 the government's authority to borrow money in the bond markets. Clinton objects to that bill, which cleared Congress on Friday, because of a provision that would restrict Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin's ability to manage government finances. While actual default seems unlikely, financial markets could react unpredictably Monday if the legislation hasn't been signed.
``We're doing our job, we're passing the bills,'' Gingrich told reporters, seeking to blame the White House squarely for any disruptions of a government shutdown. ``If the president wants to sign these bills, the government will be open.''
For his part, Clinton put the burden on the Congress, offering a spirited defense of his own record in reducing the deficit and of his own broad support for balancing the budget with fewer cuts.
``No Congress in history has ever demanded an increase in Medicare premiums as a condition of keeping the government open,'' Clinton said during his weekly radio address. ``That is wrong, and I will not accept it.''
Clinton insisted that provisions in the temporary spending and borrowing bills would harm children and the elderly, and he used a metaphor to argue his point.
``Imagine the Republican Congress as a banker and the United States as a family that has to go to the bank for a short-term loan for a family emergency,'' he said. ``The banker says to the family, `I'll give you the loan, but only if you'll throw the grandparents and the kids out of the house first.' Well, speaking on behalf of the family, I say, No, thanks.'' IF NO DEAL IS REACHED WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?
If no resolution is reached by midnight Monday, when the money runs out, 800,000 federal workers - those not necessary for protection of life and property or working for Social Security or other exempted programs - would be sent home after reporting for work Tuesday morning. They would have to report for duty, budget official Alice Rivlin said, to make sure activities were properly suspended.
The government would continue to operate health services, border patrol, air traffic control, meat inspection as well as the military and would provide food stamps, welfare and Social Security and most veterans benefits. In all, 2 million people work for the government.
But few passports would be issued, national parks and Smithsonian museums would be closed, federal grants would stop, military recruiters would not be at their posts, government contractors would not be paid (though they might choose to work), and environmental and safety inspectors would be among those furloughed.
The government would be obliged to pay essential workers, though late, and would probably decide to pay those furloughed, though this is not required, an aide to Rivlin said.
Rivlin said the president and Congress would definitely be paid but she was not certain that their checks would be issued on time. MEMO: This story was compiled from reports by Knight-Ridder News Service, The
Washington Post and The Associated Press.
THE IMPACT
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.
However, no new food stamps would be issued.
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, as would VA hospital workers.
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.
REGULATIONS, GRANTS: Environmental regulation, enforcement, research
and grant programs would stop.
- Associated Press
PROPOSALS CLINTON OPPOSED
Proposals that caused President Clinton to promise to veto
legislation by Congress extending the nation's borrowing authority and
providing stopgap spending to pay for government operations:
The temporary spending bill would raise Medicare premiums for
doctors' bills and lab fees, effective in January, from $46.10 a month
to $53.50. And, like the debt-limit bill, it would expand Medicare
coverage to pay for oral hormonal drugs to treat prostate and breast
cancer.
``Eight million of the senior citizens and disabled Americans whose
Medicare premiums will be raised by Congress are veterans. And they,
too, deserve better,'' Clinton said Saturday in his radio address.
Would limit habeas corpus appeals by death-row inmates.
Would make it more difficult for federal agencies to issue health,
safety and environmental regulations by requiring them to perform a risk
assessment and cost-benefit analysis first.
Cuts in the federal government's student loan program. by CNB