THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 15, 1995 TAG: 9511150209
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL SIZEMORE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
As the federal budget impasse brought a shutdown of ``nonessential'' government operations Tuesday morning, the breakfast crowd at The Pancake House took it all with equal parts of apprehension, cynicism and disgust.
As he nursed a cup of coffee at the Wards Corner restaurant, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class James Urich had already seen the effects of the shutdown.
As active-duty military - he's an instructor in a training group at Oceana Naval Air Station - Urich's job isn't affected. But for the thousands of federal civil service workers who labor alongside uniformed personnel in Hampton Roads' massive military complex, it's a different story.
``A civilian employee I work with wasn't there this morning,'' Urich said. ``If he comes in, he's working for free.''
A significant portion of the area's large civil-service work force has been declared ``nonessential'' and furloughed until the showdown in Washington is resolved.
Urich worries that if the budget deadlock between President Clinton and Congress goes on long enough, his own paycheck might be at risk.
``I wish they'd get their act together,'' he said. ``They're supposed to be working together, not against each other.''
Across the restaurant, David Stanton was more philosophical. He's seen it all before.
He remembers a similar budget battle in 1990 when Congress rejected President Bush's spending plan, shutting the government down over the three-day Columbus Day weekend.
``There was all this scary reporting,'' Stanton said. ``I was in the military then, and there was all this fear over people missing paychecks.
``It never happened.''
This time around, Stanton has no job worries. He works for the U.S. Postal Service, which, because it is self-supporting, will keep delivering the mail regardless of what happens in Washington.
Stanton said the media coverage he's seen has shed more heat than light on the budget battle.
``It's all Republicans against Democrats,'' he said. ``There's not much about what's best for the American people.''
``I guess there's not much else going on in the world,'' he added. ``Bosnia has quieted down, and this is the only story around.''
Stanton said he doesn't blame either side for the impasse.
``Clinton has to take a firm stand on something and not waffle, to establish that he has a backbone,'' he said. ``And the Republican Congress has their own agenda, and this is how they're pushing it.''
After some grandstanding by both sides, he believes, they will come together to end the shutdown.
``I don't think it'll last more than a week,'' he said.
At a nearby table, Erlinda Lomogda dismissed the rhetoric of both Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
``They each want their own way,'' she said. ``Clinton is trying to blame Congress, and Gingrich is saying they're just trying to balance the budget.
``It's all political.''
But she, too, believes the warring parties will solve the impasse before it goes on too long.
``They've got to,'' she said - ``or they won't be elected next time.''
KEYWORDS: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET SHUTDOWN by CNB