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Sen. Harkin: ‘We don’t want a shutdown’

As last-ditch negotiations between the White House and U.S. House Republicans appear to head south, federal lawmakers seem poised to allow a Friday deadline pass without agreement on a temporary continuing resolution. Without the bill, or something similar in place, a government shutdown looms.

Jul 31, 2020459 Shares229.6K Views
As last-ditch negotiations between the White House and U.S. House Republicans appear to head south, federal lawmakers seem poised to allow a Friday deadline pass without agreement on a temporary continuing resolution. Without the bill, or something similar in place, a government shutdown looms.
“We don’t want a shutdown,” U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin(D-Iowa) said, contrasting federal Democrats with Republicans. “We are not applauding anyone who says they want to shut the government down, but evidently the entire Republican caucus in the House would like to see the entire government shutdown.”
Harkin — as well as U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley(D-Waterloo) in a Wednesday conference call — briefly described scenes around the U.S. Capitol that included citizens holding signs advocating for a shutdown, or loudly voicing their opinion that if certain cuts were not agreed upon by Democrats that the government should stall. Harkin noted that he had seen U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican considering a 2012 presidential run, and Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican once a rumored 2012 GOP candidate, encouraging such demonstrations.
“It is flabbergasting that people are walking around and saying, ‘Shut the government down.’ I’ve got to ask sometimes: Where is their patriotism?” said Harkin.
Such a situation, he said, will not only directly impact Iowans and state agencies that work with federal agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Transportation, but would hurt the national economy. A shutdown would directly impact the National Parks Service, which has been preparing events to commemorate the 150-year anniversary of the start of the Civil War.
“It sends a terrible signal to the rest of the world that we can’t govern ourselves,” Harkin said.
The bill, presented by Republicans to slash $12 billion from the budget while agreeing to fund operations for a single week, has attached “rider” policies such as a ban on all federal funding for Planned Parenthoodand limits to environmental protection regulations.
On the Senate floor Thursday morning, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said such riders have no place in “a stopgap spending measure.”
In response, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnelldescribed the bill as “reasonable” and said that Democrats could either accept it or deal with a shutdown.
“That’s it. That’s the choice,” he said.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), however, remains at least somewhat optimistic that an agreement can be hammered out before the Friday deadline, and that Republicans are working to fill a leadership void that President Obama has allowed.
Grassley told Bret Hayworth of the Sioux City Journalthat a lot people believe it’ll be great to have a halting of government services, seeing a paring of expenses. However, he said, lots of federal government employees will then have to handle duties missed during the shutdown, meaning a lot of “overtime pay to catch up.”
Grassley also said a government shutdown would have one certain result: “It will make (Americans) more cynical.”
At a news conference Thursday morning, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner(R-Ohio) said negotiators are further away from a deal than they were even on Wednesday night, adding that Democrats were using “gimmicks” instead of real spending cuts.
If the government shuts down, agencies could have a difficult time processing first-time payments from the Veteran’s Administration or through Social Security, including disability benefits. Taxpayers with outstanding tax refunds may have delays in receiving their checks, and their might be difficulties for those taxpayers who do not file tax documents electronically. Although the Republican bill provides funding for the Defense Department through Sept. 30, failure to reach an agreement on that bill could cause delays in payment and outreach services to Iowas military veterans and their families. Citizens heading out on spring break may find national parks closed, and those needing access to the federal court system may also see delays.
A shutdown would not, however, send home employees who deliver what are considered “essential services.” For instance, air traffic controllers would not be subject to the shutdown due to the obvious public safety implications. Such individuals could be asked to work without pay, however, on a promise of reimbursement at a later date.
“Perhaps one of things most under-reported about this is the fact that the Senate passed a bill that said if the government shutdown we would stop being paid,” Harkin added. “To date, that same bill has not been approved by the House.”
Hajra Shannon

Hajra Shannon

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